United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-02-11 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:HEHS-94-68 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-68 P0b002ee180390bd1 f:he94068 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-68 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-68 HEHS-94-68 Health insurance Insurance premiums Health care cost control Health care services Physicians Health insurance cost control State-administered programs Comparative analysis National policies Health statistics Hawaii Medicaid Program Hawaii State Health Insurance Program National Health Care Reform Initiative Clinton Health Care Plan Health Security Act Letter Report HEHS For nearly 20, years, Hawaii has been a leader in the effort to achieve universal access to health insurance. It is the only state that requires employers to provide a minimum level of health insurance benefits to employees, and its public programs cover many residents lacking employment-based insurance. GAO makes several points. First, Hawaii's employer mandate did not have a harmful effect on small businesses. Second, although Hawaii's system of near-universal access has lowered health premiums, its per capita health care costs have risen at a rate similar to the national average. Third, Hawaii's experience suggests that an employer mandate by itself will not necessarily result in universal access to health care. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Health Care in Hawaii: Implications for National Reform, by Mark V. Nadel, Associate Director for National and Public Health Issues, before the House Committee on Small Business. GAO/T-HEHS-94-123, Mar. 16, 1994 (11 pages). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-68/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-68.htm GAO/HEHS-94-68 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-68 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-94-68; Health Care in Hawaii: Implications for National Reform; Health insurance Insurance premiums Health care cost control Health care services Physicians Health insurance cost control State-administered programs Comparative analysis National policies Health statistics Hawaii Medicaid Program Hawaii State Health Insurance Program National Health Care Reform Initiative Clinton Health Care Plan Health Security Act Public Law 97-35 Public Law 99-272