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House panel advances maternal health monitoring pilot after testimony from clinicians and tech vendors
Summary
The House Committee on Health voted to advance HB 1871 with amendments to create a two‑year maternal health monitoring pilot and clarified participant scope and reporting; testimony from clinicians, March of Dimes and Philips emphasized remote monitoring’s potential to improve prenatal and postpartum care and reach rural patients.
The House Committee on Health moved HB 1871 forward as a house draft on Feb. 11, adopting amendments that set the pilot’s duration and shifted certain funding items to report language.
Committee leaders said the amendments include defining licensed Hawaii nurses and dietitians who may participate and setting a two‑year pilot end date. Chair’s procedural amendments also removed an explicit $600,000 appropriation and directed related funding language to the bill report.
Supporters told the committee the pilot could expand access to prenatal and postpartum care using remote monitoring technology. Christine Perez, maternal health clinical lead, cited studies showing remote monitoring reduced cesarean deliveries, improved medication adherence and increased postpartum visit completion in populations facing access barriers. Perez told lawmakers that travel times in Hawaii can average 68 minutes one way and said mobile and cellular monitoring can help “meet people where they are” (testimony at the hearing).
Manny Heer, representing Philips Healthcare, said Philips’ pregnancy app already connects thousands of expecting families and that other states have used similar platforms to refer Medicaid enrollees to state programs; Michigan’s pilot, he said, linked thousands of Medicaid users to home‑visiting and other services.
Margaret Reagan of the Hawaii affiliate of the American College of Nurse Midwives urged lawmakers to use provider‑neutral language so licensed midwives can participate in the pilot and not be excluded by credentialing definitions.
Committee members recorded a roll call on the motion to pass the chair’s recommendation. The recorded vote announced at the hearing listed Chair (Aye); Vice Chair (Aye); Member Amato (Aye); Member Hartsfield (Aye); Member Martin (Aye); Member Olds (Aye); Member Tafanauchi (Aye); Member Allkos (Aye); and Member Garcia (Aye). The chair’s recommendation was adopted.
The committee forwarded the bill with the adopted amendments and report language directing details such as participant numbers and funding to subsequent committee and report work.
