RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES.

SB 1647 allocates state funds to the Department of Human Services to pay primary care physicians directly for services provided to Med-QUEST recipients (Hawaii's Medicaid program). This bill directly affects primary care doctors who treat Med-QUEST patients and the patients themselves by changing how providers are reimbursed. The key mechanism is shifting payment from the current system to direct payments from the state to physicians for covered services. This is a funding bill focused on streamlining payments within Hawaii's Medicaid program, with no new eligibility rules or service requirements.