Friday, March 29, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, January 1, 2022
Native Hawaiian Access to Healthcare is a Symptom of a Statewide Problem
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 3:38 PM :: 3285 Views :: Health Care, OHA, Taxes, Cost of Living

Native Hawaiian Access to Healthcare is a Symptom of a Statewide Problem

by OHA Trustee Keli‘i Akina, PhD, Ka Wai Ola, January 1, 2022

Hawaiʻi residents often face barriers in accessing medical care. For Native Hawaiians in particular, COVID-19’s impact served as yet another reminder that access to adequate healthcare is lacking for many of our people and is a consequence of a bigger problem.

In December, 2020, UH’s Hawaiʻi Physician Workforce Assessment Project reported that the statewide physician shortage remains between 710 and 1,008. For doctors starting their careers while saddled with student loan debt, it simply does not make sense to pay the high cost to live and work in Hawaiʻi, when other states have lower tax burdens that would allow them to pay their loans off faster.

Consequences of the physician shortage include longer wait times for appointments and having to travel further away for specialists. For Native Hawaiians in rural and neighbor island regions, the problem is especially acute, often requiring travel to Oʻahu or the mainland.

Dr. Scott Grosskreutz, a Hilo-based physician, co-authored a study that attributed high breast cancer mortality rates in Native Hawaiian women to a lack of access. “Much of that research is related to the ability to access health care, to be referred for a mammogram, or – once you’re diagnosed – [the ability] to be treated in a timely manner if you’re living on Molokaʻi, or Maui, or Kauaʻi or the Big Island compared to Honolulu, or if you’re in Los Angeles or New York,” said Dr. Grosskreutz. (Nicole Pasia, “Hawaiʻi is the ʻmost hostile health environment to practice in,’ physician says”, Nov. 30, 2021)

Aside from the shortage of physicians, there is a shortage of facilities. Recently, I penned a commentary in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Hawaiʻi Is No Paradise if You Need Medical Care” (Dec. 3, 2021). I noted that Hawaiʻi has among the fewest hospital beds per capita of any state, and when Hawaiʻi residents visit the emergency room, wait times are 10th longest in the country.

The reality is, if COVID-19 had hit Hawaiʻi as hard as it did parts of the U.S. mainland, our hospitals would quickly have been overwhelmed.

In addition to the shortage of providers and facilities are Hawaiʻi’s certificate of need (CON) laws. These laws require those proposing a new medical facility to prove there is a need for it, to a committee which includes their competitors. Hawaiʻi’s CON laws are among the most restrictive in the nation, requiring a CON for everything from substance abuse shelters to expansions of existing medical facilities.

The State Health Planning & Development Agency (SHPDA) administers Hawaiʻi’s CON program. Since 2006, SHPDA has denied 24 CON petitions, including applications for three medical facilities that would have added 206 beds, increasing hospital capacity by 8%.

These denied petitions also would have brought jobs.

Hawaiʻi clearly faces a healthcare supply and accessibility problem that COVID-19 brought into sharper focus. Hawaiʻi lawmakers can effect change, however, by relaxing CON regulations that exacerbate barriers to healthcare access.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers must also get creative to attract physicians to practice here, perhaps by relaxing the tax burden on medical practices setting up shop in rural areas, or by offering student loan repayment assistance. Existing programs that support and encourage Native Hawaiians to enter the medical professions in Hawaiʻi, and especially on the neighbor islands, are worth expanding.

Until we improve the availability of and access to medical resources in the state, Native Hawaiians will continue to face barriers to critical healthcare.

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT