Health Care

...Students, the teachers, and community liaisons were given over $52,000.00 in gift cards in violation of Hawaii State law....

Ige co-sponsored the bill creating the failed Hawaii Health Exchange....

According to the CDC website, genetic testing is used to diagnose this deadly disease....

Most recently, Kissel was president and CEO of Hawai‘i GAS....

Medical officials responded to an Ebola scare by placing a patient in isolation....

The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) has determined that the individual in isolation at a Honolulu hospital who was reported to the department as a possible Ebola case yesterday does not meet the criteria for testing....

Honolulu ranks 107th overall, 124th for "Health Care Accessibility & Quality"....

"Shamefully, legislators have known about this impending implosion for years, at least since late 2009...."

Senator Ige Ignored Warning Signs, Voted To Underfund Hospitals Now Cutting Services On Oahu, Maui And Kauai....

A survey of older adults on Oahu ranks affordable home health care and housing among the greatest needs....

As Chairman Of Ways And Means, Ige Purposefully Underfunded State Hospitals, Directly Resulting In This Fiscal Crisis....

...accusing the State of Hawai`i Department of Human Services of denying critically needed treatment for autistic children....

...reports from California and Massachusetts indicating that mandated insurance coverage for orofacial anomalies increased premiums by two cents to four cents per member, per month....

...election day is November 4, and Obamacare’s second open enrollment begins on November 15....

No federal funds are permitted to cover abortions or administer plans that cover abortion....

...a potential violation of the law that says at least two plans must be available to consumers who don't want any association with the controversial procedure....

...Students can begin receiving an Autism Scholarship as early as age 3....

"Hawaii has America's highest cost of living and I am committed to reducing this burden...."

...A new report over the weekend on the growing doctor shortage is just the latest sign that the Abercrombie-Ige policy agenda is not working....

...The Dispensary System Task Force will submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation to the 2015 Legislature....

...in 2017, two significant ACA provisions -- which keep insurance costs down by giving taxpayer dollars to insurance companies -- expire....

...creates openness and rate transparency, and promotes increased competition by requiring Hawaii’s health insurers to allow its small group ACA rates to be published....

The following letter has been sent out to all HHSC employees....

Hawaii is making progress when it comes to passing policies to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer, according to a new report by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network....

Hawaii’s health-care exchange, the Hawaii Health Connector, has taken another blow....

...On average, it takes CMS 190 days to approve a waiver, though it can take up to 1,637 days (more than four years!) to receive approval....

“Bravo!…to HSMA for taking the lead in pulling out of the Health Connector...."

...legislation that will make it legal for a terminally ill patient to access investigational drugs....

...ACA enrollees may also be sicker....

...Last week, the House of Representatives voted to authorize Speaker John Boehner to file a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s failure to fully implement Obamacare....

"The ACA is threatening to dismantle multi-employer health and welfare funds that provide affordable, high-quality health care...."

Ryan is looking back to the success of the 1996 welfare reform....

...WalletHub used data from 47 states to construct a health-related return on investment metric....

...Overall non-Medicaid expansion states improved their median INDEX score by 0.6% while Medicaid expansion states median INDEX scores declined by (0.80%)....

The decision covers residents in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands...the law was "undermining the stability" of the territories' insurance markets....

State figures show net enrollment increased 12 percent between Oct. 1 and June 30....

...lack of community-based resources to support patients with underlying mentally illness in managing their other medical conditions....

A $100 million web portal operated by the state Department of Human Services and designed by KPMG to connect Hawaii residents with Medicaid services has also been problematic, House lawmakers said Tuesday....

Hepatitis A, which causes severe gastrointestinal illness and, in severe cases, liver failure and death, incubates in the human body for between 15 and 50 days....

...the ACT Now for Veterans bill (H.R. 5131) to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse non-VA medical providers who provide care to eligible veterans....

The VA healthcare system is the sole source of coverage for only about one-fifth of enrolled veterans....

Many people in Hawaii already had health insurance because of a 1976 Hawaii Prepaid Healthcare law....

Approximately 60 percent of the 7.1 million people receiving public mental health services nationwide want to work....

26,010 individuals enrolled in Medicaid between Summer 2013 and April 2014....

...For all OPR combined, the prescribing rate in Alabama was 2.7 times the rate in Hawaii....

The new VA Secretary needs to quickly understand the serious depth of the problems facing the VA in Hawaii....

“Six more members of board of directors for the Hawaii Health Connector will vacate June 30 leaving the board without a quorum.  It is a perfect time to replace it with a solution that is more appropriate for the state of Hawai’i."

...some 64,000 veterans enrolled in the system for at least 10 years have yet to see a doctor....

"...I applaud the recent Senate compromise action reached between Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) to allow vets access to private healthcare providers...."