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The state Legislature is expected to end its 11-day special session today after having dealt with two bills and confirming the appointment of Gilbert Coloma-Agaran to head the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Medical privacy law
delayed until next JulyBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinHouse and Senate leaders have tentatively agreed to delay for a year the effective date of a new medical privacy law aimed at controlling the release of personal health information and penalizing those who violate the law with jail time and fines.
The law was passed in 1999 and took effect last month. But it has been suspended and its new effective date is July 1, 2001, to give lawmakers time to resolve problems it has raised.
The law was intended to protect the right of an individual's right to privacy of personal health information, including health care and health status.
But House Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa (D, Hilo) said in his committee report that the bill created confusion among medical providers, hospitals and workers' compensation insurers, as well as raised issues for those not in compliance.
Many who testified on the bill earlier this month said they favored the delay because there are too many interpretations about the provisions in the bill -- confusion that affects the ability of health-care providers to take care of patients.
Both the House and Senate judiciary committee chairmen said they will try to revise the law -- not repeal it -- during the 2001 legislative session.
Meanwhile, the Legislature is also set to approve a bill that fixes an inequity between incumbents and challengers in the 2002 elections. The bill, which has to be ratified by voters in November, proposes to fix the problem by having the state reapportionment commission -- which will redraw Senate district boundaries next year -- set the length of senators' terms based on voters in each Senate district.
House and Senate leaders said the special session cost $15,000.
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