Grassroot Institute Applauds Court Decision Protecting Maui Hospital Plan

Watchdog group expresses hope that there will be no more roadblocks to better patient care

News Release from Grassroot Institute

HONOLULU, HAWAII--February 22, 2016--Following a court decision that rejected a union challenge to the privatization of three hospitals on Maui, the Grassroot Institute praised the court for allowing the plan to improve health care on Maui to proceed. U.S. District Court Judge Helen Gillmor found no merit to the union's claim that the state law permitting Kaiser to take control of the hospitals violates the U.S. Constitution or interferes with state collective bargaining agreements.

"The challenge to the Maui hospital plan may not have been a surprise, but it remains deeply disappointing," stated Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. "When it has been clearly demonstrated that the people of this state deserve better, more effective, more responsive health care, it is difficult to understand how anyone could defend the status quo."

Dr. Akina continued: "The truth is that this partnership will not only help improve health care access on Maui, but will also improve things for hospital workers. Under the new plan, we should see better working conditions for hospital employees and less overtime and overtime abuse. The Court decision may have been a loss for the union leadership, but it was a win for the people who are mostly deeply affected by the failures in the previous system."

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About the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii:

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, the free market, and limited, accountable government throughout Hawai`i and the Asia-Pacific region.  Read more about us at http://www.grassrootinstitute.org/

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About Grassroot President:

Keli’i Akina, Ph.D.,  is a recognized scholar, educator, public policy spokesperson, and community leader in Hawaii.  Currently, he is President/CEO of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a public policy think tank dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, free markets and limited, accountable government.  An expert in East-West Philosophy and ethics, Dr. Akina has taught at universities in China and the United States and continues as an adjunct instructor at Hawaii Pacific University.  Dr. Akina was a candidate for Trustee at Large of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the 2014 General Election run-off.