HB 1973 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HEALTH.

Summary

Establishes within the Department of Health a one-year KupunAloha Pilot Program to provide in-home health care and support services to eligible participants who do not otherwise qualify for government assistance for these services. Appropriates funds for the pilot program. Pilot program sunsets 6/30/2027. (CD1)

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Signed Jul 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1973_HD1 → HB1973_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from the House to the Senate, updating administrative metadata and refining the eligibility criteria for the KupunAloha pilot program. The most significant policy change is the expansion of the exclusion list, now barring individuals covered by Medicaid or other government assistance programs in addition to Medicare, ensuring the pilot targets only those without any public support. The reporting deadline was also adjusted to align with the standard legislative session convening date.

Scope change

The bill's scope of eligibility was narrowed to exclude individuals receiving any form of government assistance for in-home care, not just Medicare.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded the exclusion criteria to disqualify individuals covered by Medicaid or other government assistance programs for in-home health care or support services, in addition to Medicare.

Changed the requirement from meeting 'need requirements' to meeting 'need criteria' for the program.

TIMELINE

Adjusted the reporting deadline to be 'no later than' twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session, removing the specific reference to the 2027 session.

FISCAL

Updated the appropriations language to explicitly cover the 'implementation and operation' of the pilot program.

TECHNICAL

Updated document metadata, including author names, revision numbers, and file identifiers from the House version to the Senate version.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.

upper

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

lower

May 1, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 176-26).

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 176-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Moriwaki; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Marten, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 3:45PM in conference room 329.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 4:00PM in conference room 329.

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Tuesday, 04-28-26 3:45PM in conference room 329.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 647) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-08-26 10:02AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3194) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) McKelvey.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-20-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to HHS, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 69).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Lee, M..

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from HLT/HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 343-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Olds, Amato, Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Hartsfield, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to HLT/HSH, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

34 primary · 0 co-sponsors