Requesting The Director Of Commerce And Consumer Affairs To Establish And Convene A Pharmacy Reimbursement Working Group To Explore And Propose Legislation For The 2026 Legislative Session.
Summary
SR54 is a Senate resolution that asks the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to create and convene a Pharmacy Reimbursement Working Group. The group is intended to study whether health insurers in Hawaii should be required to cover and reimburse health care services provided by licensed pharmacists acting within their scope of practice, and to develop draft legislation for the 2026 session. The resolution frames the issue as part of Hawaii’s broader health care access problem, especially in rural areas and on the neighbor islands, and emphasizes pharmacists’ role in providing services such as medication therapy management, immunizations, screenings, chronic disease management, and patient counseling.
The working group would include representatives from the Insurance Commissioner’s office, the Board of Pharmacy, retail pharmacies, an independent pharmacists’ association, and the health insurance industry. It is directed to meet regularly, examine reimbursement practices and access-to-care impacts, compare other jurisdictions, and submit a report with findings and proposed legislation to the Legislature before the 2026 session. The resolution does not itself change insurance coverage or reimbursement rules; instead, it creates a study and recommendation process aimed at future statutory changes, likely affecting chapter 461, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and any insurance mandates governing pharmacy services.
Impact
SR54 has no immediate substantive effect on Hawaii law, but it sets in motion a policy-development process that could lead to new insurance coverage and reimbursement requirements for pharmacist-provided services in the 2026 legislative session. If the working group’s recommendations are adopted later, the bill could affect health insurers, pharmacies, pharmacists, and patients by expanding reimbursable services and potentially changing how chapter 461 and related insurance statutes treat pharmacist-delivered care.
Sentiment
The available legislative history suggests generally favorable sentiment. The resolution passed the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee 5-0 with amendments, indicating broad support for studying pharmacy reimbursement and pharmacist scope-of-practice issues. The bill’s findings are strongly supportive of pharmacists and emphasize access to care, cost savings, and preventive services, which suggests the measure was viewed as a constructive step toward addressing provider shortages and improving health care delivery.
Contention
The main policy tension is between advocates for expanded reimbursement of pharmacist services and health insurance stakeholders who may face new coverage obligations and costs. The resolution explicitly includes health insurers in the working group, signaling that reimbursement mandates could be controversial because they may increase plan expenses or require changes to existing payment structures. Another point of discussion is the scope of pharmacist services eligible for reimbursement and whether mandatory coverage would meaningfully improve access to care without creating undue financial burden on insurers or pharmacies.
Same As
Requesting The Director Of Commerce And Consumer Affairs To Establish And Convene A Pharmacy Reimbursement Working Group To Explore And Propose Legislation For The 2026 Legislative Session.
Same As
Requesting The Department Of Commerce And Consumer Affairs To Establish And Convene A Pharmacy Reimbursement Working Group To Explore And Propose Legislation For The 2026 Legislative Session.