https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog Evidence, analysis and reporting on health care access, provider networks and health policy in Hawaii. en-us CC BY 4.0 — Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:29:52 GMT https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawai-i-island-has-enough-mammography-machines-what-it-does-not-have-is-a-way-to-msoiqwor https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawai-i-island-has-enough-mammography-machines-what-it-does-not-have-is-a-way-to-msoiqwor Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:29:52 GMT Op-Ed Hawaiʻi Island has more certified mammography facilities per resident than Oʻahu. It has 28 times fewer per square mile. Five facilities, three towns, 4,028 square miles. The shortage is reach. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/invisible-twice https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/invisible-twice Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sun, 02 Aug 2026 10:00:00 GMT Op-Ed The State's own quality review excluded seriously mentally ill patients from its network calculations. We measured what was never counted: the beds, the clinicians, and the arithmetic underneath Hawaiʻi's homelessness crisis. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/one-health-hawai-i-and-the-medical-loss-ratio-question-mrswtj5e https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/one-health-hawai-i-and-the-medical-loss-ratio-question-mrswtj5e Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Mon, 20 Jul 2026 07:35:11 GMT Article One Health Hawaiʻi should be reviewed by economic substance, not label, because HMSA’s MLR treatment may show whether insurer-provider payments remain independent or stay inside one enterprise. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/trust-is-not-evidence-one-health-hawai-i-hmsa-hph-and-the-burden-of-proof-mr0d6ef2 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/trust-is-not-evidence-one-health-hawai-i-hmsa-hph-and-the-burden-of-proof-mr0d6ef2 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Tue, 30 Jun 2026 08:07:46 GMT Op-Ed Trust is not evidence. One Health Hawaiʻi’s backers should prove, with independent evidence, that consolidation will help patients instead of raising costs. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawaii-s-health-insurers-began-differently-are-they-ending-up-in-the-same-place-mqhv9yqh https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawaii-s-health-insurers-began-differently-are-they-ending-up-in-the-same-place-mqhv9yqh Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:26:48 GMT News Different Stories, Same Direction | Hawaii Health Insurer Governance { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Different Stories, Same Direction", "alternativeHeadline": https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/meet-your-new-healthcare-provider-mqfvuvio https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/meet-your-new-healthcare-provider-mqfvuvio Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:08:36 GMT Article When insurance policies push Hawaiʻi’s doctors out, patients are left with an algorithm. Primary care is not a substitute input. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/primary-care-is-not-a-substitutable-input-mqdlf60r https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/primary-care-is-not-a-substitutable-input-mqdlf60r Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:39:50 GMT Op-Ed Hawaiʻi's largest insurers, and now an HMSA partner, are treating primary care as a substitutable input that AI can replace. The HHTF lays out the record and says the relationship is not for sale https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/policy-brief-payer-administrative-responsibility-in-prior-authorization-mqb85vjq https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/policy-brief-payer-administrative-responsibility-in-prior-authorization-mqb85vjq Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:53:09 GMT Article Attempts to limit prior authorization quantity and scope have faced enormous push back. This brief puts forth a different path - shift administrative burden to the companies who create it. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/medical-debt-is-not-the-disease-it-is-a-symptom-mq8yk33a https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/medical-debt-is-not-the-disease-it-is-a-symptom-mq8yk33a Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:48:44 GMT Op-Ed Hawaiʻi's medical debt relief bill helps 50,000 families. But debt is the symptom, not the disease. The largest study of this model found it doesn't improve health or finances. Treat both. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/insurance-is-not-access-hawai-i-needs-to-stop-counting-healthcare-it-cannot-deli-mq8eqam0 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/insurance-is-not-access-hawai-i-needs-to-stop-counting-healthcare-it-cannot-deli-mq8eqam0 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:33:41 GMT News You have insurance. Your doctor refers you to a specialist. The specialist is not on your island. The appointment is on Oʻahu. The airfare is yours. The missed work is yours. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/spotlight-neighbor-island-family-physician https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/spotlight-neighbor-island-family-physician Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:47:42 GMT News 45-minute source interview with a Hawaiʻi Island family physician, edited into a 2–3 minute clip on workforce shortfalls and access constraints. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/short-clip-insurance-is-not-access https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/short-clip-insurance-is-not-access Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sun, 07 Jun 2026 16:47:42 GMT News A 2-minute clip drawn from a longer briefing: insurance coverage figures overstate real-world access in Hawaiʻi. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/redefining-corporate-insurance-conduct-as-healthcare-s-unpoliced-engine-of-ineff-mq1q3s8r https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/redefining-corporate-insurance-conduct-as-healthcare-s-unpoliced-engine-of-ineff-mq1q3s8r Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sat, 06 Jun 2026 02:17:43 GMT Article Hawaiʻi has 12,688 physicians licensed in the state. Only 3,647 are providing active patient care, representing 3,044 full-time-equivalent physicians. Official workforce modeling places the statewide https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/small-clinics-broad-scope-primary-care-and-the-real-measure-of-efficiency-mpzem6z2 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/small-clinics-broad-scope-primary-care-and-the-real-measure-of-efficiency-mpzem6z2 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:20:34 GMT Article Small clinics may look less efficient, but broad-scope primary care can lower avoidable use and total cost when paid and supported properly. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawai-i-medicaid-community-engagement-the-informal-workforce-and-a-small-busines-mpzd5ho7 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawai-i-medicaid-community-engagement-the-informal-workforce-and-a-small-busines-mpzd5ho7 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:39:35 GMT Article Publication Summary Hawaiʻi should implement federal Medicaid community engagement requirements with flexible documentation for informal work and a time-limited small business compliance transition pr https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-primary-care-capacity-test-a-policy-framework-for-measuring-real-access-befo-mpv0wdpe https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-primary-care-capacity-test-a-policy-framework-for-measuring-real-access-befo-mpv0wdpe Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:45:30 GMT Article Executive Summary Hawaiʻi should not approve major payment, contract, network, or merger-related changes unless those changes preserve or improve real primary care capacity. The state’s access problem https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/when-restricted-utilization-becomes-the-baseline-why-health-care-spending-and-wo-mpv00h8b https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/when-restricted-utilization-becomes-the-baseline-why-health-care-spending-and-wo-mpv00h8b Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:20:42 GMT Article Historical utilization and spending can understate true need when access is constrained. Hawaiʻi should test for restricted access before using current use as a baseline. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/physician-workforce-collapse-in-hawai-i-structural-causes-and-policy-remedies-mpotwbo2 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/physician-workforce-collapse-in-hawai-i-structural-causes-and-policy-remedies-mpotwbo2 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Thu, 28 May 2026 01:42:53 GMT Article Hawaiʻi's physician workforce is short 833 FTE when geography counts. A clinician-led brief on the structural causes — GET, Medicare GPCI, housing — and five policy remedies. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/prior-authorization-is-not-a-clinical-tool-mpntlm58 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/prior-authorization-is-not-a-clinical-tool-mpntlm58 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 27 May 2026 08:46:47 GMT Article 81.7% of denied prior authorization appeals that reach review get overturned. More than four out of five patients who appeal prior authorization denials are successful. This high reversal rate indicat https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/after-payment-transformation-the-fee-for-service-and-capitation-crossroads-mpnsm30n https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/after-payment-transformation-the-fee-for-service-and-capitation-crossroads-mpnsm30n Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 27 May 2026 08:19:10 GMT Op-Ed Primary care payment reform is now caught between two partial solutions. One tries to improve fee-for-service by paying for work it historically ignored. The other tries to move away from fee-for-serv https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/when-provider-contracts-become-health-policy-mpnrulsj https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/when-provider-contracts-become-health-policy-mpnrulsj Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 27 May 2026 07:57:48 GMT Op-Ed Most patients never see the contracts between insurers and clinics. Yet those contracts help decide whether a clinic can hire staff, keep panels open, answer patient messages, remain in-network, or su https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/questions-for-hmsa-after-shaping-hawai-i-s-healthcare-future-mpnr7gnd https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/questions-for-hmsa-after-shaping-hawai-i-s-healthcare-future-mpnr7gnd Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 27 May 2026 07:39:48 GMT Op-Ed HMSA’s leaders spoke with members of the Hawaiʻi Medical Association during “Conversations at HMA” about the future of health care in Hawaiʻi and the end of Payment Transformation. The conversation wa https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-rise-and-fall-of-hmsa-payment-transformation-mpnqzc38 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-rise-and-fall-of-hmsa-payment-transformation-mpnqzc38 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 27 May 2026 07:33:29 GMT Op-Ed HMSA’s Payment Transformation was Hawaiʻi’s major primary care payment experiment from roughly 2016 to 2026. It began with an appealing promise: move away from fee-for-service, pay for value, support https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/geography-is-not-a-billing-code-mpnf7pvx https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/geography-is-not-a-billing-code-mpnf7pvx Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Wed, 27 May 2026 02:04:04 GMT News While the system attributes this to geography, it is fundamentally a pricing issue. This scenario occurs frequently in Hawaiʻi: a patient on Kauaʻi is referred to an endocrinologist, but none are avai https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/you-are-644-doctors-short-and-getting-shorter-mpll6adv https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/you-are-644-doctors-short-and-getting-shorter-mpll6adv Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Mon, 25 May 2026 19:15:23 GMT Article Hawaiʻi does not have a physician pipeline problem. It has a retention problem it has been misdiagnosing for decades. What the Numbers Actually Show Of the 12,688 physicians licensed in Hawaiʻi, only https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-directory-is-lying-to-you-mpkfzehu https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-directory-is-lying-to-you-mpkfzehu Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Mon, 25 May 2026 00:02:18 GMT News What ghost networks actually cost Hawaiʻi patients and why no one is held accountable. You have insurance. You open your plan's provider directory and see dozens of physicians near your zip code. You https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/unequal-bargaining-power-in-healthcare-lessons-from-the-nitta-ruling-mpk8ybc0 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/unequal-bargaining-power-in-healthcare-lessons-from-the-nitta-ruling-mpk8ybc0 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sun, 24 May 2026 20:45:29 GMT Op-Ed The recent Nitta ruling highlights the significant imbalance in Hawaii's healthcare contracting system. In this case, physicians argued that the standardized contracts from HMSA were unfair and that t https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-price-you-don-t-see-how-pharmacy-benefit-managers-shape-hawai-i-s-healthcare-mpk78ng3 https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/the-price-you-don-t-see-how-pharmacy-benefit-managers-shape-hawai-i-s-healthcare-mpk78ng3 Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sun, 24 May 2026 20:34:30 GMT Op-Ed By David Isei , Executive Director, Hawai‘i Healthcare Task Force Editor’s Note: This article is part of the Task Force’s series on the economic factors affecting Hawai‘i’s healthcare access. Executiv https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawai-i-cannot-recruit-its-way-out-of-system-instability-mpk8hbbi https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hawai-i-cannot-recruit-its-way-out-of-system-instability-mpk8hbbi Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Sun, 24 May 2026 20:34:30 GMT Op-Ed Hawaiʻi’s healthcare crisis is frequently described as a workforce shortage. The most recent statewide physician workforce analysis estimates that Hawaiʻi faces a deficit of more than 800 physicians w https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hcr-137-hawaii-clean-claims-statute https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/hcr-137-hawaii-clean-claims-statute Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:00:00 GMT Op-Ed Hawaiʻi already requires timely payment of clean health care claims under HRS § 431:13-108. HCR 137 asks that the law be followed and enforced — because payment delays endanger providers, patients, and access to care. https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/nitta-v-hmsa-turning-point-hawaii-healthcare-providers https://hawaiihealthcaretaskforce.org/blog/nitta-v-hmsa-turning-point-hawaii-healthcare-providers Hawaii Healthcare Task Force Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:00:00 GMT Press Release A legal challenge exposes how one-sided contract terms and restrictive arbitration clauses threaten Hawaii's provider workforce and patient access, drawing high-profile support and prompting calls for legislative action.