WSHA Urges Definition Clarification in Balance Billing Rule

WSHA commented on a recent preproposal draft rule for E2SHB 1688 which was passed during the 2022 legislative session. E2SHB 1688 aligns the state’s Balance Billing Protection Act with the federal No Surprises Act and adds balance billing protections for emergency and crisis behavioral health services. WSHA commented that the definition of “outpatient hospital department” in the preproposal draft rule is not consistent with the definitions used by HCA, DOH, and CMS. WSHA commented that the proposed definition exceeds the scope of current law and does not match legislative intent. WSHA recommended that if the term outpatient hospital department is defined in the rule, it should be consistent with the definition in RCW 70.01.040. After OIC considers the comments it received, it will issue either another prepublication draft for comments or a formal draft with hearing and comment period. (Andrew Busz, andrewb@wsha.org)