Senate panel restores hospital funding

The Maui News
Wednesday, March 31, 2004

By EDWIN TANJI, City Editor

HONOLULU - A state Senate committee restored $11.2 million in funding for the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. on Tuesday, a move that Sen. Roz Baker said she expects will be accepted by the state House.

The House Finance Committee cut the funding from a $33.2 million allocation for the HHSC last month, saying an analysis showed the hospital management group had adequate cash on hand.

But HHSC officials said the House committee misunderstood an auditor's report showing the HHSC had a $15 million cash balance in its accounts. The cash balance represented funds in HHSC accounts, but the funds already had been allocated to various expenditures, including payroll for employees in the 12 state hospitals and medical centers, said Chief Executive Officer Tom Driskill. The were not surplus funds, he said.

In reviewing the House version of the state budget, the Senate Ways and Means Committee agreed with HHSC that the full $33.2 million was needed and put back the $11.2 million cut by the House.

"This is great news. I'm especially pleased that Maui Memorial Medical Center will receive all its funding," Baker said Tuesday evening.

Baker, who is chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee, said she worked closely with her colleagues in the Senate to have the Ways and Means Committee restore the HHSC funding.

Sen. J. Kalani English - whose 6th District includes Lanai, where the Lanai Community Hospital is part of the HHSC system - said he appreciated the response of senators who recognized the need for the funding, "especially for the Neighbor Islands."

"This funding is necessary for the health of our communities, and especially for those who are most vulnerable that live in rural areas," he said.

After the House Finance Committee action was approved, HHSC officials had said the loss of funding would mean severe cuts in services throughout the system.

HHSC manages hospitals and some medical centers in remote, mostly rural areas of the state. In Maui County, it operates Maui Memorial, the Kula Hospital and Lanai Community Hospital.

Although the House Finance Committee is chaired by Big Island Rep. Dwight Takamine, the funding cut likely would have had the most severe impacts on facilities on his island, which has five hospitals and clinics in Hilo, Kona, Ka'u, Kohala and Hamakua.

Baker said she believed House members appreciate the need to support HHSC, but she said Neighbor Island residents will need to tell their representatives that they are concerned about a potential loss of HHSC services.

"I know that (Maui Rep.) Joe Souki has been working on the guys. I've been having conversations with them as well," she said.

"I think we got some new information out that maybe the House committee didn't have. I'm optimistic that the House will agree with the Senate, but it's still important for the Neighbor Island folks to communicate their concerns."

If the Senate approves the Ways and Means Committee's version of the budget bill, the differences will need to be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee - and the final version approved by both houses.

Copyright © 2003 — The Maui News

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