State, Maui hospitals begin negotiations with Kaiser Permanente

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The state began negotiations with Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Thursday for the provision of health care services at Hawaii Health Systems Corporation’s Maui Region facilities.

The state began negotiations with Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Thursday for the provision of health care services at Hawaii Health Systems Corporation’s Maui Region facilities.

The Maui Region facilities include Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital and Lanai Community Hospital.

State Comptroller and Director of the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) Doug Murdock will serve as lead negotiator for the state. Others on the state’s negotiating team include the Gov. David Ige’s Deputy Chief of Staff Laurel Johnston, Attorney General Doug Chin, Director of Finance Wesley Machida, Director of the Department of Human Resources Development James Nishimoto, and HHSC and Maui Regional Healthcare System staff.

The enactment of Act 103 authorized the Maui Region to transfer the operation of its facilities to a new entity in order to mitigate future budget deficits.

Once negotiations are complete and an agreement is in place, Kaiser Permanente will become the new operator of the Maui Region facilities. The Maui Regional System Board will serve as the custodial caretaker of the properties and oversee performance of the terms and conditions of the agreement.

The state hopes to finalize an agreement by the end of the year.