Reconciling federal, state health laws big challenge

By Vicki Viotti

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 15, 2012

~~<p>The challenge in the coming months for Hawaii officials is how to make the square peg of the state's longstanding health care statute fit into the round hole of the federal Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>That story starts in 1974, the year that both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) passed in Congress and Hawaii enacted the Prepaid Health Care Act, which imposed an employer mandate to provide health coverage for employees working at least 20 hours a week. It also set a relatively high bar for what approved health plans must cover.</p>
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The challenge in the coming months for Hawaii officials is how to make the square peg of the state's longstanding health care statute fit into the round hole of the federal Affordable Care Act.

That story starts in 1974, the year that both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) passed in Congress and Hawaii enacted the Prepaid Health Care Act, which imposed an employer mandate to provide health coverage for employees working at least 20 hours a week. It also set a relatively high bar for what approved health plans must cover. Login for more...