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Another would allow people to bury loved ones on family property, which "touches upon the native Hawaiian love of land," said House Health Chairman Lennard Pepper.
While legislators didn't resolve some high-profile issues, Senate Health Chairman Andy Levin said, "extremely valuable improvements" were made in low-profile health bills to help people.
The legislators spoke at a recent conference sponsored by the state Health Department's Office of Rural Health and elaborated in an interview.
"The community hospital bill is not a 'do nothing' bill," Pepper said, referring to the label that critics have given to the recent legislative session.
Pepper pointed out all neighbor islanders are affected.
Health Director Larry Miike said he's pleased that an administration bill setting up a corporation to run the state's community hospitals survived contentious hearings. Arguments focused on central versus regional control of the hospitals.
Miike has been a strong advocate of autonomy for the 13 state facilities.
Instead of the Health Department, the system will be governed by a corporate board with a chief executive officer and 11 members appointed by the governor, Levin said. One will be from the Health Department, five from different island regions and five at-large.
A nine-member advisory committees also will be appointed from each region to protect rural communities, Levin said.
Most of the hospitals don't make money so those that do will have to help the others, he said. "We need to think of it as a state-wide system."
The goal is "to get the hospital system out from under the state bureaucracy," Levin said. But the Legislature is nervous about it and will retain stringent oversight to make sure the money is spent properly, he said. "Our first and foremost goal is to provide quality health care to our people."
Levin urged statewide health leaders to recommend qualified people for the corporate positions and advisory committees, pointing out: "They can be political appointments with no interest in health or people knowledgeable who will make it work."
The hospital bill wouldn't have passed without Pepper's cooperation, said Levin, noting he had to negotiate House-Senate differences with "one hand tied behind my back" by the Senate's Ways and Means Committee.
Pepper said the health committees produced better bills in joint conferences because Levin "is a gentleman who talked to people with respect. ... I think the two of us did a good job here."
Other health bills awaiting Gov. Ben Cayetano's signature include these to: