Senate Standing Committee on Health and Human Services

Good afternoon. Mahalo for joining us for today's health human services hearing on Friday, 04/17/2026 at 1PM. We are convened in Room 225. We'd like to introduce my other members, which is Senator McKelvey as my vice chair. And we have Senator Keohokalole.

Oh, we have quorum, so we can go through this. Thank you. This meeting is being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event that we must abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties, committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business at 01:01PM, Monday, 04/20/2026, in Room 225. A public notice will be posted on the legislator's website.

To facilitate this hearing in a timely manner, we will be enforcing a one minute limit on testimony. And I will be reading a list of individuals who submit written testimony for each measure. We apologize if the closed captioning does not accurately transcribe the names. If you're interested in reviewing the written testimony, please go to the legislator's website. You'll find a link on the status page for the measure.

We appreciate your understanding and remind you that Comenity does have your testimony, that I reviewed them, so I encourage you to use your time to either add additional comments or you can stand on your written testimony. First up, HCR 18 requesting Department of Health to convene a hospice working group to examine trends and regulations in the hospice industry. First up, we have excuse me. Testimony. We have Department of Health providing comments.

Afternoon, chair, vice chair, members of the Afternoon. Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. My name is Paula Serio.

I'm the chair or the chief for the office of healthcare assurance. Because of the office of healthcare assurance's role is enforcement focused, we believe that we are not the appropriate entity to lead this work group, intended which is intended to objectively review the hospice industry. Doing so would prevent a conflict of interest as regulators should not be directing or shaping the industries they oversee.

The work group's charge examining trends in a broader industry dynamics also fall outside of our scope, which is limited to compliance oversight rather than assessing market behavior or operational practices. Nevertheless, we remain committed to collaborating with hospice providers and their association should we work towards developing administrative rules and licensure standards that help support patient safety.

Thank you for this opportunity. I'm available for questions.

Okay. Thank you. And I correct that it's not a comment. It is in opposition. I see that on your title, but not in the body.

So thank you very much. Next, it's Navia Hawaii in support.

Hey, chair, vice chair, Richard uazar. We submitted a additional piece of testimony that supersedes the written testimony that we had submitted earlier. In light of some of the concerns that we had talked about with stakeholders, we have two amendments. Number one, rather than Department of Health being the chair of it, it would be a a legislator. We talked to the to the House Committee on Health, and they they said they would be willing to to chair it.

And then the second one is there was a provision that says the hospices have to be established before 2000 in the state of Hawaii. There were some concerns about that as well, so it'd be we'd be okay with taking that out of the rezo also.

K. Thank you very much. K. Anybody else wishing to testify in HCR 18? Members, any questions?

Questions answered.

Okay. Thank you very much. K. Moving on. HCR 32, requesting the governor's senior adviser for mental health and the justice system to formulate a plan to increase access to the Hawaii State Hospital for certain mentally ill criminal defendants.

First up, we have Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Support. Next, we have, Department of Health, Behavioral Health Administration providing comments. Next, we have doctor Michael Champion. Oh, unless you're department of health. Come on up, doctor Matsu. In support.

You're standing in your written testimony. Okay. Okay. It says comments, but now it's in support. It's not in our

I can go up here.

K. The I'm just looking at your written testimony. It says providing comments.

Comments. Yeah. So we sent our our written testimony. We we are committed to working to look at the system and working together with this unit advisor to

So so so you're now in support of the mess, and you're willing to work. Okay. Thank you. Come on.

Comments? Another idea. Come

on. That's fine.

Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Doctor Michael Champion providing comments.

It's Michael Champion from the governor's office chair, vice chair, stand on the written testimony, commented.

Okay. Thank you very much. We have Lewis Erchick in support. Josh Frost of ACLU providing comments. Anybody else wishing to testify in HCR 32?

Members, any questions? Okay. Seeing none, moving on. HCR 35, requesting the auditor to assess the social and financial effects of mandatory health insurance coverage for biomarker testing.

Good afternoon, chair, vice chair, and committee members.

Just a second. You're not Jack Lewin, are you? You don't look like Jack Lewin. Okay. Okay.

I will call you when your time is up. Thank you very much. Okay. Hello. No.

It's okay. It's okay. Thank you for being for for being willing to testify, but we'll get there. K. Doctor Lewin, Forshukta in support.

Okay. Kobe Chalk in support. Alzheimer's Association. Kathleen Amston, lupus and allied diseases in support. K.

Josie Gamas of American Kidney Fund in support. K. John Lamb, Charles Mark Jacobson Jackson and Ron Lanton of AACU, American Association of Clinical Neurology in support. Primo Castro in support of Biotech Innovation Organization, Hawaii Primary Care Association in support, Cynthia Owen in support, American Cancer Society, Mark William in support. Cheryl Okuma in support.

Jennifer Hosler in support. And we've got Hawaii Women Lawyers in support. Federal Harrow in support. One, two, three, Four other individuals all in support. K.

Anybody else wishing to testify? Come on up. Identify yourself.

Thank you, chair, vice chair, and commend members. My name is Shane Murida, and this is on behalf of ACR 35. I was born and raised in Hilo. I've been a surgical oncologist in Honolulu for eighteen years. I serve currently on the board of directors for the American Cancer Society here locally in Hawaii.

I'm also the medical officer. I would like to strongly support and ask, humbly ask for your your endorsement for this bill to help biomarker testing for our cancer patients. It's really been a paradigm shift in the way cancer patients are being treated. No longer is cancer being looked upon only in one type of disease as far as a site.

It is what we call the it's we have tumor agnostic therapy, meaning we can treat cancer based on how it looks on the microscope and all the different, genes and whatnot.

So I really appreciate your endorsement, and humbly ask for your support. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. HC 0 okay. Anybody else wishing to testify on HCR 35? Members, any questions? K.

We also have Senator Kanuha, but we lost Senator

Kiel Caboa. We're trading places here.

God. Okay. We still have four.

I just wanted to k. The only cost is for Bella.

K. K. Next one is HCR 105, requesting the Hawaii State Center for Nursing to compile a comprehensive list of recommended safe patient staffing ratios for all nursing specialties and subspecialties across all healthcare settings and to maintain a repository for this information. Okay. First up, we have Laura Reichardt, board of nursing, Hawaii State Center for Nursing, providing comments.

Aloha, chair, vice chair, members of the committee. Thank you so much for hearing this, resolution. The Center for Nursing, as you can see, the testimony has already started the work on this. We're more than happy to do the work, and it's it's consistent with our long standing initiatives. We pivoted our mission and our vision last year to, prioritize well-being in the workforce.

Thank you very much. Next, we have Hawaii American Nurses Association in support.

Stand on my testimony.

Thank you very much. Anybody else wishing to testify on HCR 105? Members, any questions? Okay. Seeing none, moving on.

HCR 173, urging Maui help to collaborate with stakeholders to establish a full time medical residency program on the island of Hawaii. On Maui. Excuse me.

On the island of Maui. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Okay. Okay.

We have a shutdown in

support. Doctor Lewin.

Yes. Thank you, chair, vice chair, members. Yes. We think this is a great idea. There's already residency program in in kind of informal process there now, but we need to formalize it.

We need to double the number of people in it. And, you know, we defer to to Maui Health in terms of the cost of this whole kind of thing. But we could we could should be there to help. And we think rural health transformation dollars will fund this kind of a program. So let's move

it moving forward. Thank you for that.

K. Thank you very much. Next, we have Yasmeen Cheney, Hawaii State Commission on Status of Women in support.

Good morning. Yasmin Cheney for the commission on the status of women. I stand on my written testimony in support of this measure and would just like to bring to the committee's attention the need for more robust pregnancy care providers in Maui County in addition to primary care as there are a lot of folks that are having to travel off island to deliver. So thank you very much.

K. Thank you. And I apologize for always mispronouncing your name. I you. Try.

Thank you. Next, I yeah. By the end of the year, I should be able to figure it out.

No worries. You can't just have immunity.

K. Samuel Shoemaker, University of Hawaii in support. Elizabeth, doctor Ignacio for Hawaii Medical Association in support. Anybody else wishing to testify in HCR 173? Members, any questions are ready for decision making?

K. So so first up, we have forum. First up, HCR 18, requesting Department of Health to convene a hospice working group, examine trends and regulations. Oh, oh, we got everyone except for one. And the hospice industry chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments.

We will accept Naviance proposed testimony, and we're gonna have the house lead the chair, the working group. Oh, sorry.

Go on there.

Or if or state does or you said it doesn't need. Sure. If you're willing to do it.

I'm totally willing to do it because this is actually an issue that is coming to a head in

That's fine.

That's fine. Okay. We're happy to work, but

So we'll have the vice chair, so both House and Senate co chair this thing.

Okay. Any any comments, questions, concerns? Seeing none, vice chair for the vote.

Okay. Recommendation on ACR 18 is the Senate draft one. Known excuse, Senator Fevella. All members present. Any WRS, no.

Seeing none, recommendation is adopted, mister chair.

Okay. Thank you very much. For HCR 32, chair's recommendation is to pass with tech amendments. We're gonna also change the title to align it with a be it resolved clause as requested by SMA. Any comments, questions, concerns passed with amendments only for tech?

Okay. Seeing none, vice chair for the vote.

Okay. Recommendation, HCR 32 is the Senate draft one. The only presence of all members except Senator Fevella. Anybody who's a no.

Seeing none, recommendation is adopted, chair.

For HCR 35, biomarker testing, chair's recommendation is to pass as is. Any comments, questions, concerns? Seeing none, vice chair for the vote.

Alright. Recommendation, HCR 35 is to go as is. Noted excuse absent, Senator Ravella. Any WRs or no's of the members? Seeing none, recommendation is adopted.

For HCR 105, we're gonna take Laura Reichardt's proposed amendment, which is basically insert on page three, we're gonna replace the word ratios to strategies and ratios and any additional tech amendments as recommended by SMA. Any comments, questions, concerns? Seeing none, vice chair for the vote.

K. Recommendation on HCR 105 is a Senate draft one, no excuse, Senator Vavala. All members present, any WRs or no's? Seeing none, recommendation has been adopted.

And for HCR 173, chair's recommendation is to pass with only tech amendments. Any comments, questions, concerns? Seeing none, vice chair for the vote. Okay. Recommendation h

HCR 173 is Senate draft one. No need to introduce Senator Vavala. All members present? Any degree or no? Seeing none, recommendation is adopted.

And with that, we are