HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-13 Letter to John Mizuno and Bertrand Kobayashi SB 2542, SD2 Relating to the General Excise Tax Exemptions a;+11....f............ Roy Takemoto
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County of Hawai`i
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553
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March 13, 2020
Representative John M. Mizuno, Chair
Representative Bertrand Kobayashi, Vice Chair
Committee on Health
Hawaii State Legislature
Dear Chair Mizuno, Vice-Chair Kobayashi, and Committee Members:
RE: SB 2542, SD2 Relating to the General Excise Tax Exemptions.
At a time when our citizenry is uniquely aware of the vital role our healthcare providers
play, I appreciate this opportunity to testify on a crucial issue facing our State.
"Making Hawaii a nice place to live" is simple to say, and almost too obvious a goal to
highlight, but nevertheless that phrase sums up the most important task facing our elected
community leaders. For this reason alone, I want to thank and praise any effort to deal with one
of the most critical issues that we must confront, and that is the crisis in our healthcare system
caused by our healthcare provider shortage.
We are justly proud of the Hawaii Prepaid Healthcare Act, but how valuable is insurance
if you cannot find a provider? How can we expect our people, especially our aging population,
to live comfortably, if they believe that quality healthcare is only available if they have the time
and ability to travel to the mainland? How can we attract more providers when they realize that
they will be expected to work extraordinary hours because there is not a reasonable number of
other providers to share the burden?
And the ramifications are important, too. To what extent do we limit our primary
economic driver, tourism, when visitors are warned "Don't get sick in Hawaii"?
I am not smart enough to know how to entirely solve our provider shortage. However, I
am told, and do believe, that eliminating the General Excise Tax on healthcare services would
be a very positive step in improving the economics for healthcare providers, thereby
encouraging existing providers to stay in practice and enticing new providers to join us.
County of Hawai'i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
SB 2542 Relating to General Excise Tax Exemptions
March 13, 2020
Page 2
When I describe our situation, I try to use the word "provider" because, in truth, our
healthcare crisis goes beyond our physician shortage. For that reason, SB 2542, SD2 is the
preferred approach if it is not too expensive, because it would create a general excise tax
exemption for medical services provided both by all physicians and by advanced practice
registered nurses acting in the capacity of primary care provider. It seems to me that granting
the exemption to MDs and APRNs is a sensible way to go, if the State is able to absorb the
initial additional loss of revenue ("initial" because most or all of the loss would be offset as the
higher earnings of the APRNs are spent and circulate through the community, generating new
tax revenue).
Please pass SB 2542, SD2, and thank you again for addressing our healthcare dilemma.
Respectfully Submitted,
Harry Kim
MAYOR
County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.