Here are five things to know about the complaint and potential privatization of Maui’s public hospitals.
1. The complaint seeks to prevent the implementation of Hawaii House Bill 1075, which authorized Gov. David Ige (D), the board of directors of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. and the board of the Maui region to transfer management of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s Maui region to a private entity.
2. UPW, Local 646, which is involved in two collective bargaining agreements with the state that run through June 30, 2017, claims that the privatization of Maui’s hospitals would violate the U.S. Constitution’s contract clause.
3. In the complaint, the union alleges that House Bill1075 “substantially impairs the obligations of these pre-existing collective bargaining agreements by depriving UPW and the affected bargaining unit employees that UPW represents of all the protections and benefits of these contracts during the contract terms,” according to Pacific Business News.
4. The HHSC Maui Region, which includes MMMC in Wailuku, Lanai Community Hospital in Lanai City and Kula (Hawaii) Hospital, ended the 2014 fiscal year with an operating loss of $43.4 million, and an additional $46.3 million loss is projected for the 2015 fiscal year, according to the report. Therefore, the region has sought a private partner to reduce its dependence on state funding.
5. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and Hawaii Pacific Health in Honolulu have both expressed interest in a possible partnership.
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