SB 1040 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO MEDICAL DEBT.

Summary

Requires the Office of Wellness and Resilience to conduct a study on the cost and feasibility of establishing a program to acquire and forgive medical debt owed by certain households in the State. Requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 12/31/2050. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB1040_SD1 → SB1040_SD2 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill version updates the legislative metadata to reflect the second session (SD2) and corrects formatting errors in the text. It also amends the statute to change the required contracting partner from a specific list including the 'Hawaii health systems corporation' to a broader category of entities with demonstrated experience, and clarifies that the program may use private funds in addition to government appropriations.

Scope change

The bill's scope of applicability remains focused on households in Hawaii meeting specific income or debt thresholds, but the mechanism for selecting the program administrator was broadened to allow for more flexible contracting.

TECHNICAL

Updated session identifiers from SD1 to SD2 and corrected formatting inconsistencies in the header and body text.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for the Office of Wellness and Resilience to contract with a specific list of entities to a broader requirement to contract with any entity having demonstrated experience in similar partnerships.

FISCAL

Explicitly added 'private funds' as a permissible source of funding for the medical debt acquisition and forgiveness program.

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

Mar 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1254) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

lower

Mar 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Chun, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.

lower

Mar 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to HLT, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 19

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 245) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-19-25 10:02AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from HHS/CPN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 648) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Hashimoto, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS/CPN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-25 9:45AM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to HHS/CPN, WAM.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors