Maui News

Update: Senate bill advances to increase air medical services

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State Sen. Joy San Buenaventura chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, which passed Senate Bill 1426 today to increase aeromedical services in Hawaii. PC: Screen grab from YouTube

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services unanimously passed a bill this afternoon to increase air medical services, including in Maui County. The bill was revised to align with fiscal years 2025 to 2027 and making other technical and non-substantive changes for clarity.

Senate Bill 1426 would appropriate state funds to the Department of Health to expand aeromedical services.

Written testimony on the bill was in support of passage.

Dr. Jerald Garcia of the Hawaiʻi Medical Association said the ongoing physician shortage in the state is worst on Neighbor Islands, and that, combined with the overall aging of Hawaiʻi’s population, contributes to the need for increased use of emergency medical services.

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“When combined with the unique geographic and logistical challenges of air travel, the barriers for our Hawaiʻi patients to receive timely medical care, particularly in our rural and underserved areas, are considerable,” Garcia said. “Expansion of emergency aeromedical medical services as based on the Maui medevac model will allow more patients to receive prompt quality medical care that they urgently need and reduce the stressful and costly burdens of air travel placed upon them and their loved ones.”

Jay Lim, an emergency medical technician from Lānaʻi, said House Bill 1426 will help save people’s lives on Lānaʻi.

“Having an air medical service is very important to the people on the Neighbor Islands,” Lim said. “I know a lot of cases where they made a difference in saving people lives in order to get them to higher level of care. The fast response makes a huge difference in trauma, strokes and cardiac events in the patient survival and outcome.”

Submitting testimony on behalf of American Medical Response, Doug vant Groenewout said he’s a 35-year paramedic serving Hāna and has experienced numerous occasions when aeromedical service was unavailable.

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“Flight support can be limited due to weather, maintenance,” he said. “That is true for any system. However, when it is due to lack of aircraft availability due to call volume, (Maui county’s aircraft is busy) or due to personnel (pilot or medic down time), people suffer and increases the chance of permanent damage or death. If you couple this with a rural clinic whose medical/trauma resources are limited, this invariably results in poor patient outcomes for the people you represent and have a duty to take care of,” he said.

The bill itself says that most rural communities in Hawaiʻi have fewer health care resources, compared with those on Oʻahu, including access to advanced levels of trauma care, medical specialists and sub-specialists.

“This puts patients in these areas at greater risk of poor outcomes for serious medical conditions such as heart attack, stroke and traumatic bodily injuries,” the bill says. “The existing aeromedical services system is overburdened. The state is currently served by only one statewide aeromedical provider, for which there are few viable and cost-effective alternatives in the event of a grounding, for example, due to maintenance issues or crew availability. Emergency aeromedical services are not available for many patients in rural counties and areas.”

The measure suggests that one model to improve emergency aeromedical services could be based on Maui County’s medieval services model. It notes that the state Department of Health has been cost-sharing a helicopter with Maui County and contracts with a private entity to provide staff and operations for the emergency helicopter.

An AMR air ambulance. Senate Bill 1426 would increase state funding for aeromedical services. A hearing on the bill was held Monday afternoon by the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. File photo
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The bill appropriates an as yet unspecified amount for each county to increase emergency air services.

Click here to submit written public testimony. Earlier Monday, Senate Bills 1494 and 1495, relating to hearings aids, passed committee approval with amendments.

The first bill provides that health insurance policies and contracts issued on or after Jan. 1, 2026, to give coverage for the cost of hearing aids at a minimum $1,500 per hearing aid for each hearing-impaired ear every 36 months. And, the second bill would exempt from the general excise tax, gross receipts for the sale of hearing aids.

Brian Perry
Brian Perry worked as a staff writer and editor at The Maui News from 1990 to 2018. Before that, he was a reporter at the Pacific Daily News in Agana, Guam. From 2019 to 2022, he was director of communications in the Office of the Mayor.
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