[ OUR OPINION ]
THE same Big Island state representative who killed a Senate-passed bill last year that would have made cockfighting a felony is using the same tactic to block similar legislation in the current session. The reasons he gives are specious. Legislators should force the bill onto the House floor for approval and eventual enactment by the Legislature. Legislator set to kill
cockfighting bill
THE ISSUE A Big Island legislator is blocking a measure that would make Hawaii the 29th state in which cockfighting is a felony.
Testimony last week was overwhelmingly in support of the bill making cockfighting a Class C felony. Rep. Eric Hamakawa, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says he has decided not to allow the bill to be reported to the House floor because of concerns that the bill may be overly broad and unconstitutional.
Hamakawa apparently is referring to legal challenges of a referendum approved last November by Oklahoma voters making cockfighting a felony. Prior to the election, Oklahoma was one of only three states in which cockfighting was legal. Passage of the referendum made it the 28th state in which the barbaric blood sport is a felony. Hawaii is among only 20 in which it is a misdemeanor.
Lawsuits seeking to block enforcement of the Oklahoma statute have been filed in 27 counties. Although temporary restraining orders against enforcement have been issued in most of those counties, not a single judge has ruled that the anti-cockfighting law is unconstitutional.
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has asked his state's Supreme Court to decide the issue. The new law so obviously conforms with the Constitution that the cockfighters asked the Supreme Court justices last week to disqualify themselves. They cited the justices' unanimous opinions against cockfighters in previous cases and argued laughably that the justices have been influenced by anti-cockfighting editorials.
The legal conflict in Oklahoma had not surfaced when Hamakawa blocked the Hawaii bill a year ago. At that time, when members of the Hawaiian Humane Society approached Hamakawa to ask his cooperation, he explained to them, "I have a lot of cockfighting constituents." His killing of the bill was nothing more than stellar representation of Big Island residents involved in criminal activity.
The new reasons Hamakawa gives for blocking the bill are bogus. Legislators should not allow a group of cockfighters with political influence on the Big Island to kill a measure that would treat their crime with the seriousness that it deserves and receives in most states.
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NEW treatments and current understanding of mental illness demand that insurance coverage for such conditions be on par with that of physical ailments. State lawmakers' approval of a bill that assures such equality would increase access to necessary treatment for mental disorders. Insurance should
cover mental illness
THE ISSUE State legislators are considering a bill that would provide health plan coverage for mental disorders.
The measure would make permanent a law, set to expire in June, that requires health plans to cover schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorders. It also would add other illnesses such as depression and obsessive-compulsive conditions for coverage.
More than 54 million Americans suffer from mental disorders. However, fewer than 8 million seek treatment, in part because of the expense, according to the National Mental Health Association. Although most Americans have some type of health insurance, mental health benefits vary and many are limited. In Hawaii, coverage for mental illnesses also varies from plan to plan with most containing some limits.
The bill is opposed by insurance providers, including the Hawaii Medical Service Association and Kaiser Permanente, who argue that insurance premiums would increase and that employers should be allowed to decide what benefits to offer their workers. However, a 1999 U.S. surgeon general's report estimates that premiums would increase by less than 1 percent while the cost in worker productivity due to mental disorders totaled $79 billion.
Parity would assure that patients with mental disorders receive proper treatment, including medication that helps them control the illness. While health plans generally will cover drugs for physical illnesses with patients' co-payments of about $4 to $5, drugs for mental disorders may require co-payments of as much as $50. Limits also may be placed on doctor visits when continuous therapy may be needed.
The bill drew emotional testimony from Governor Lingle, who described the difficulties her family faced with her mother's suffering bipolar disorder. "It's an illness," she said, just like diabetes or high blood pressure, yet no one would have to argue that those diseases should be covered by insurance.
The receding stigma of mental disorders makes people less timid about getting help and since treatment and drugs may greatly improve their conditions, health plans should extend coverage for them. There should be no distinction for medical care, whether it be for the body or for the mind.
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