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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2310 |
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TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that vision is an important aspect of an individual's overall health and if damaged can affect an individual's livelihood. Without a good sense of vision, an individual is less likely to secure employment, pay bills, and be a functional member of society, which may increase the burden of costs to the State to support this individual.
The legislature has historically recognized the importance of making medicaid coverage available for the State's most vulnerable populations and has acted to ensure that health care payments made with state funds or controlled by the State are sufficient to cover the actual costs of the care provided.
The legislature also finds that the department of human services' budget was reduced by $150,000,000 forcing it to prioritize its services and programs based on the severity of issues it addresses. Due to budget cuts, the department of human services has requested to drop vision services for able-bodied adults insured by medicaid. The loss of this benefit will adversely impact those insured by QUEST, eye care providers, local nonprofits that provide vision services, community health centers, and ultimately the State's budget.
The legislature further finds that although some may deem the ability to see as a quality of life issue rather than one of mortality or morbidity, advanced eye disease can cause partial to complete blindness, dramatically increasing levels of morbidity. Additionally, many argue that change in vision and eye diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and other diseases, are primary indicators of diseases with high mortality rates. One study found that retinopathy in people without diabetes may signal increased risk of coronary heart disease. This finding is important because increased coronary heart disease mortality associated with retinopathy in people without diabetes was equivalent to the presence of diabetes itself, which is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of heart disease and stroke, and retinopathy can easily be detected and addressed in its early stages with regular eye examinations. Therefore, early detection of eye disease through testing refraction can potentially minimize the risk of having a disease with high mortality rates and the future costs of treatment associated with these diseases.
The legislature also finds that from a provider standpoint, accepting medicaid insurance is already an arguable sacrifice. Medicaid reimburses less, is hard to bill, requires significantly more bureaucracy to manage, and therefore costs more to accept. Additionally, there currently exists a tremendous access-to-care issue for medicaid recipients seeking vision services. By cutting medicaid adult vision services benefits, providers are further dissuaded to accept this benefit, further broadening the gaps of access to care, particularly on the neighbor islands.
The legislature further finds that the federal government has agreed to match state appropriations for medicaid adult vision services.
The purpose of this Act is to match federal funding dedicated to the State to restore medicaid adult vision services.
SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2012-2013 to match the federal medicaid allowance allocated to the State for adult vision services.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2012.
Report Title:
Kupuna Caucus; Medicaid; Adult Vision Services; DHS; Appropriation
Description:
Appropriates funds to the department of human services to match federal funds allocated to the State for medicaid benefits dedicated to adult vision services. (SD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.