Health Care

... Wayne Graves, Director of Human Resources at Hawaii Pacific Health, sits on the Prepaid Health Care Advisory Council ....

... AG Lopez acknowledged Hawaii “could do better” with indictments and criminal prosecutions ....

... Hawaii legal trends increasingly prioritize adult desires over children’s rights ....

... TikTok wants Hawaii’s state lawsuit accusing TikTok of deliberately addicting children dismissed, or at least moved to federal court ....

“...These defendants traded on the reputation of the Shriners Children’s healthcare system to perpetrate their multi-million-dollar fraud...”

... The Attorney General’s ‘Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’ worked only five cases between 2019 and 2025--they refused to touch this one ....

...whether Philip Morris can slash a lung cancer survivor’s damage by blaming her for becoming addicted to cigarettes....

"...the MFCU identified a number of challenges that have impacted its ability to initiate criminal charges and obtain convictions...."

... Vance named California, Hawaii and New York as states that have 'completely not taken the fraud issue seriously' ....

... SB3125 touted--but House Dems didn’t mention HB1875, sex change surgery for children.  Its on the Governor’s desk now ....

... Both HB1961 and HB1875 have effectively bypassed conference committee and are now on the Governor's desk ....

...House has voted to accept the Senate versions of both HB1875 juvenile sex change, and HB1961 protest outside Planned Parenthood thus they are now both enrolled directly to the Governor....

... The case over a banned pesticide used on banana plantations in Costa Rica has spanned thirty years and multiple courts ....

“One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool.” – George Orwell

... HB1875 juvenile sex change passes Senate 21-4 ....

... HB1875: Juvenile sex change passes Senate JDC ....

... For a pregnant mother on Molokaʻi, giving birth can mean having to leave home weeks before her due date ....

... the law only prohibited counseling conversations in one direction. It allowed conversations that push young people toward a gender identity different from their sex ....

... Do No Harm v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al. ....

... Kennedy had stated “sex-rejecting procedures” — such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries — are unsafe and ineffective ways to treat children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria that “fail to meet professional recognized standards of health care.” ....

... HB1875 passes Senate HHS, JUD next ....

... to ensure that individuals required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect, have the knowledge and tools necessary to carry out this critical responsibility ....

... testifiers raised concerns about parental rights, medical accountability, and the breadth of the legal shield being created ....

...The plan is to use AI to turbocharge HMSA's "oppressive and unconscionable" system for "overseeing care decisions." ....

...There are several significant healthcare bills still making their way through the Legislature. Perhaps the most important are those that would reform the state’s medical “certificate of need” regulations....

... HB 1875 weakens medical accountability and limits safeguards intended to protect patients, families, and especially minors ....

"Experience from other states shows that when insurers and care providers merge, costs rise, access narrows, and the community ultimately loses."

... The agreement orders Express Scripts to offer plan members the lowest available cost for medicine like insulin rather than artificially inflated prices ....

... All five cases were not vaccinated against chickenpox ....

... the 2026 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule ....

"they will repeal certificate-of-need laws"

... year to year the physician workforce lost 31 full-time-equivalents ....

...On Jan. 5, 2026, the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed a decision memorandum to revise the Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule and significantly reduce the number of vaccinations routinely recommended for all U.S. children....

... 30 commentaries during 2025 that were first featured by local and national media ....

... Act 88 (2024), creates a roadmap for formalizing peer support services, which are defined as assistance provided by individuals with lived experience and expertise with mental health challenges, substance use disorders, housing instability and/or justice system involvement ....

... The first phase was deployed within the Hawai'i Developmental Disabilities Division, which serves approximately 3,600 active participants ....

... part of a historic $50 billion national investment to strengthen rural healthcare in all 50 states ....

... Parents enrolled in Medicaid/Med-QUEST may receive a $50 incentive card per child, once per calendar year, after a completed well-child visit ....

... Hawaii has one of the most restrictive CON environments in the country ....

... The original song is quite a bit longer ....

... The proposed rule bans hospitals from performing sex change interventions on minors as a condition for Medicare and Medicaid participation ....

... In Honolulu, health care costs 8.69% of median monthly income, 15th highest in USA.  And most of the top 15 cities have substantially lower median incomes ....

... life expectancy in Hawaiʻi declined by 1.4 years, from 82.1 in 2019 to 80.7 in 2021 ....

... new Grassroot Institute of Hawaii white paper highlights the need for state lawmakers to reform or repeal the state’s CON regulations ....

“...Without actual harm, Hawaii lacks standing to sue...."

“This is not a debate in medicine. It’s a debate political."

... The claims are similar to ones raised by more than a dozen other states ....

... a 50,000+-square-foot medical facility adjacent to the new hospital that Queen’s has already announced it is building ....

... Hawaii had the highest vaccination rate and lowest mortality rate ....

... key drivers for the increase being rising medical and pharmacy costs and growing utilization, especially in high-cost therapies such as specialty drugs ....