H.C.R. NO. 121 - Health Insurance Premium Task Force

• Requests the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to establish a statewide Health Insurance Premium Task Force to study rising health insurance premium costs and recommend a comprehensive plan to address them.

• Task force must investigate identified cost drivers including physician and facility costs, expensive technologies, fragmented care, fee-for-service models, high administrative expenses, provider consolidation, and aging population.

• Task force membership includes 14 representatives from state agencies (Human Services, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Health), health insurance providers (HMSA, Kaiser Permanente), medical associations, employer health benefits trust fund, business chamber, and health-related nonprofits.

• Task force must propose a target health insurance premium cost growth rate that is achievable and not burdensome for businesses, households, and the state, and compare Hawaii's premiums to other states.

• Hawaii health insurance premiums average $650-$750 monthly and have doubled each decade, growing from 2.8% of resident income in 1974 to 14.7% in 2015.