HB 1898 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HEALTH.

Summary

Specifies that no person is subject to liability for providing clinical preventive services in accordance with Department of Health recommendations. Requires health insurers, mutual benefit societies, health maintenance organizations, and plans established by the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust to provide coverage for clinical preventive services. Authorizes the Department of Health to make recommendations relating to clinical preventive services and issue standing orders for medications and immunizations. Clarifies that, for coverage for child health supervision services, the prevailing medical standards include recommendations by the Department of Health. Specifies that coverage for clinical preventive services shall not be denied on the basis of medical necessity or subject to prior authorization. Specifies that a registered pharmacist may order a vaccine in accordance with the recommendations from the Department of Health. Exempts this measure from an Auditor impact assessment report. Effective 1/30/2050. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action May 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1898_HD2 → HB1898_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the effective dates for new preventive health coverage requirements from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2027 (unchanged) or potentially later depending on specific clause interpretation, but most notably changes the final effective date of the entire act from July 1, 3000, to January 30, 2050. It also refines the language regarding when insurance policies must comply, changing 'beginning' to 'on or after' to ensure clarity for policies issued at any point leading up to the effective date. Additionally, the bill updates specific article numbers in the statutes and adjusts the formatting of service descriptions for child health supervision.

Scope change

The bill's applicability timeline was significantly extended by changing the final effective date to 2050, while clarifying that new insurance contracts must comply starting on or after January 1, 2027, rather than only those beginning on that exact date.

TIMELINE

The final effective date of the entire act was changed from July 1, 3000, to January 30, 2050, likely to align with future legislative cycles or administrative reviews.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for insurance policies to cover preventive services was clarified to apply to policies 'on or after' January 1, 2027, instead of only those 'beginning' on that date, ensuring broader coverage for policies issued just before the deadline.

TECHNICAL

Statutory references were updated to change 'article I' to 'article 10A' and adjusted punctuation in the list of covered sections for child health supervision services.

The report title was updated to include 'EUTF' (Emergency Use Therapeutics) and adjusted the effective date notation in the summary section to match the new 2050 date.

HB1898_HD1 → HB1898_HD2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill significantly expands the scope of preventive care coverage in Hawaii by requiring health insurers to cover clinical preventive services recommended by the Department of Health without cost-sharing. It establishes a new legal framework protecting providers from liability when following these recommendations and explicitly mandates coverage for services previously subject to medical necessity denials or prior authorization requirements.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of required coverage to include all clinical preventive services recommended by the Department of Health, whereas the previous version focused primarily on clarifying the 'prevailing medical standard' definition. It also extends protections and coverage requirements to specific types of plans like HMOs and employer-union trust plans.

REQUIREMENT

Mandates that individual and group hospital insurance plans provide full coverage for clinical preventive services recommended by the Department of Health starting January 1, 2027, with no deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance.

Prohibits health plans from denying coverage for clinical preventive services based on medical necessity or requiring prior authorization, ensuring these services are treated as essential benefits.

ENFORCEMENT

Creates new liability protections for healthcare providers and organizations, shielding them from civil, criminal, or disciplinary action when providing services in accordance with Department of Health recommendations.

ELIGIBILITY

Authorizes registered pharmacists to order and administer vaccines in accordance with Department of Health standing orders, broadening access points for immunizations.

DEFINITION

Formally defines 'prevailing medical standards' to include Department of Health recommendations alongside existing guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

TIMELINE

Sets the effective date for new coverage mandates at January 1, 2027, replacing the previous placeholder date of July 1, 3000.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 5:38PM in Conference Room 329.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 4:30PM in conference room 329.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Thursday, 04-30-26 4:30PM in conference room 329.

lower

Apr 20, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to HLT, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 30

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 640) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Fevella; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC/WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-08-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC/WAM.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from HHS/CPN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3235) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC/WAM.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in CPN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga, Lamosao, McKelvey; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) McKelvey.

upper

Mar 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS/CPN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-20-26 9:30AM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to HHS/CPN, JDC/WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 316).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Kila, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (8) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Grandinetti, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Kong, Lowen, Marten, Tam; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Pierick.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 366-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Hartsfield, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to HLT, CPC, referral sheet 2

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

11 primary · 0 co-sponsors