Hawaii governor hopefuls spar over health issues

Republican James “Duke” Aiona and Democrat Neil Abercrombie sparred Sept. 30 over how national health care reform will impact Hawaii's 36-year-old law that requires businesses to provide health insurance to full-time workers.

At a debate in the race for governor before about 250 Kaiser Permanente managers and executives, and in interviews afterward, Aiona raised doubts about an exemption for Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act that Congress added to the national legislation enacted in March.

"I don't know where it stands," Aiona told reporters following the hour-long forum. "I've had varying opinions about that, whether we need to get an exemption or don't have to get an exemption."

Hawaii's law works fine, said Aiona, the current lieutenant governor. "I want to make sure that at the very least, we don't lose any of those benefits for our people," he said.

Abercrombie, who represented Hawaii's 1st Congressional District before vacating his seat in February, said Aiona was exaggerating. Abercrombie said it was clear Hawaii's law will not be affected by the national statute. "I can assure you of one thing, that if I'm elected governor, the president of the U.S. and the Department of Justice will agree with me," he said.

Hawaii law requires full-time employees to pay no more than 1.5 percent of their monthly earnings for health insurance. It also sets a minimum level of benefits and mandates that workers with pre-existing conditions not be denied coverage. The parts of the national law that apply to uninsured Hawaii residents remain in effect. About 8 percent of Hawaii residents were uninsured in 2008, according to the Kaiser Foundation, a nonprofit research organization focusing on U.S. health care. The national average is 15 percent. Click here to read the entire article in Bloomberg Businessweek.