Establishes patient rights with respect to timely access to specialists and referrals and prior authorization determination timelines. Establishes certain requirements for health carriers for prior authorization determinations. Establishes certain requirements for the use of automated decision support tools for claims determinations and utilization review. Requires health carriers to establish certain safeguards for protected health information. Establishes certain reporting requirements for network adequacy. Establishes certain provider protections. Expands the Insurance Commissioner's enforcement authority.
Establishes a two-year Mental Health Emerging Therapies Pilot Program within the Office of Wellness and Resilience. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
Establishes a licensing system for medical cannabis cultivation. Facilitates the transport of medical cannabis. Expands the scope of authorized actions for medical cannabis patients. Provides that qualifying out-of-state patients need not register with the Department of Health. Protects medical cannabis patients and cultivation licensees from undue discrimination.
Prohibits persons from interfering with another person's access to or from a health care facility or disrupting the normal functioning of a health care facility. Makes violations a petty misdemeanor. Establishes a private right of action. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action for injunctive or other equitable relief. (SD1)
SB 451 would require the Department of Human Services to establish a Medicaid buy-in program, enabling working people with disabilities to maintain health coverage without losing Medicaid benefits when they earn income. This program would allow individuals to pay a portion of the cost to stay enrolled in Medicaid while working, rather than losing coverage as earnings increase. The bill is scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2050, but remains under review by the Health and Human Services committee. It directly affects working adults with disabilities who currently face coverage gaps when earning above Medicaid income limits.
Sub-Topics
Medicaid
Tags
People with Disabilities
SB 377 would remove the general excise tax from medical services provided by healthcare facilities and professionals. This change directly affects hospitals, clinics, doctors, and their patients by eliminating a tax on services like check-ups, treatments, and hospital care. The bill's key provision is a straightforward tax exemption, meaning healthcare providers would no longer collect or remit this tax on qualifying medical services. The policy aims to reduce costs associated with healthcare delivery without altering other tax structures.
Appropriates moneys to the Department of Human Services to increase funding for applied behavioral analysis services for Medicaid enrollees who have been diagnosed with autism. Requires the Department to obtain the maximum federal matching funds available for the expenditure.
Beginning 1/1/2027, requires health insurers, mutual benefit societies, health maintenance organizations, and health plans under the State's Medicaid managed care program to provide coverage for brief cognitive assessments for individuals fifty years of age and older.
Allows for the regulation of sports wagering by the Department of Law Enforcement. Establishes licensing requirements for sports wagering operators and sports wagering suppliers. Establishes a general excise tax to be levied on sports wagering operator licenses. Establishes the Problem Gambling Prevention and Treatment Special Fund to be administered and expended by the Department of Health. Specifies that legal sports wagering and fantasy sports contests shall not be considered contests of chance or gambling. Authorizes DLE to perform criminal history record checks on applicants and licensees relating to sports wagering. (SD2)
Effective 1/1/2026, increases the employer base composite monthly contribution to the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund by 5.2 percent of the 2025 employer base composite monthly contribution. Effective 1/1/2027, requires the calculation of employer base composite monthly contribution based on the change in Medicare Part B premiums from 2025 to 2026 and at two-year increments thereafter. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
