Friday, Feb. 7, marked the cutoff for bills to pass out of their policy committees of origin, while Tuesday, Feb. 11, marked the cutoff for bills to advance from fiscal committees (the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Ways & Means). We are pleased to announce our high-priority bills are in good shape as we advance to the next phase of this year’s legislative session – floor activity.
For bills to continue advancing, they must pass their house of origin by Feb. 18. Once a bill passes the House or Senate, the process starts over in the opposite chamber. House bills go to the Senate for consideration in committee and vice versa.
Below is the status of WSHA’s top-priority bills.
SB 6492: Addressing workforce education investment funding through business and occupation tax reform.
WSHA supported SB 6492, making changes to the business and occupation (B&O) tax surcharge to fund workforce education. This legislation replaces HB 2158, which passed the legislature in 2019. The legislature had to quickly replace HB 2158 due to implementation issues with the increased tax. SB 6492 has passed in both the Senate and the House and been signed by Governor Inslee. HB 2158 included an exemption from the surcharge for hospitals licensed under RCW 70.41. WSHA worked hard and was successful in ensuring the exemption was maintained in the replacement bill. SB 6492 specifies that hospitals will pay their existing B&O tax rate, rather than a higher rate. SB 6492 also preserves the standard B&O tax rates for unaffiliated smaller entities with taxable income less than $1 million. (Andrew Busz)
SB 6404: Recommending prior authorization standards and appropriate use criteria in patient care
WSHA strongly supports SB 6404, which would help create uniform recommendations for when prior authorization is used. The bill has been modified since its initial introduction. It would require carriers to provide the Office of the Insurance Commissioner with information regarding the number and approval rates of prior authorizations. It would also create a prior authorization work group to annually select and review services requiring prior authorization and make recommendations to create more consistency for patients. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. SB 6404 passed out of Senate Health and Long Term Care last week and has since passed out of Senate Ways and Means. It now awaits further consideration by the Senate. (Andrew Busz)
SB 6358: Requiring Medicaid managed care organizations to provide reimbursement details of health care services provided by substitute providers
WSHA strongly supports SB 6358, which would require Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) to follow Medicare policy in how substitute providers are reimbursed when they fill in at a facility for longer than 60 days. It would also expand the instances in which substitute providers could be used. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Health & Long Term Care last week and now awaits further consideration by the Senate. Read more from the Jan. 27 Inside Olympia. (Lauren McDonald)
HB 2621 / SB 6359: Creating regulation exemptions for rural health clinics providing services in a designated home health shortage area
WSHA strongly supports HB 2621/SB 6359, which would allow Rural Health Clinics in shortage areas to offer a limited scope of services — including home nursing visits — to homebound patients, increasing access to critical services in underserved communities. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. Both bills have passed their respective budget committees and await full chamber consideration. Read more from the Jan. 27 Inside Olympia. (Jacqueline Barton True)
SB 6275: Increasing patient access rights to timely and appropriate post-acute care
WSHA strongly supports SB 6275 (and companion HB 2597) to expedite hospital discharge for Medicaid patients in need of post-acute care. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. SB 6275 has passed the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and is now awaiting further consideration by the Senate. Read more from the Jan. 27 Inside Olympia. (Zosia Stanley)
HB 2036: Health system transparency
WSHA opposes HB 2036, which institutes burdensome and excessive reporting requirements on hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities. HB 2036 passed the House Committee on Appropriations and now awaits further consideration by the House. Read more from the Jan. 13 Inside Olympia. (Zosia Stanley)
SHB 2426: Increasing oversight of freestanding psychiatric hospitals
WSHA is working with the Department of Health (DOH) to address concerns with SHB 2426, which would implement new and considerable oversight by DOH on freestanding psychiatric hospitals. SHB 2426 passed out of the House Committee on Appropriations and now awaits further consideration from the House. Read more from the Jan. 20 Inside Olympia. (Shirley Prasad)
HB 2457: Establishing a cost transparency board
WSHA has concerns with HB 2457, which would establish a cost transparency board to analyze the total health care expenditures in Washington, identify trends in health care cost growth and establish a health care growth benchmark. HB 2457 has passed the House Committee on Appropriations and awaits further consideration by the House. Read more from the Jan. 20 Inside Olympia. (Zosia Stanley)
SB 5385: Concerning telemedicine payment parity
WSHA strongly supports SB 5385, which allows telemedicine services to be paid for at the same rate as in-person visits. It also removes the requirement that a patient must first have an in-person visit with a provider before the use of store-and-forward technology will be reimbursed. Store and forward is the process of storing clinical information for later diagnosis and action by the provider. The use of telemedicine to deliver care can increase access to important services, such as mental health. Read WSHA’s issue brief for more information.
In the 2019 legislative session, SB 5385 passed the Senate but did not make it through the House Committee on Appropriations. The bill began this session in the Senate Committee on Rules and is awaiting floor action. (Shirley Prasad)
2E2SSB 5720: Concerning the Involuntary Treatment Act
WSHA has concerns with 2E2SSB 5720, which makes significant changes to the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) by increasing the initial detention period and making it easier to detain a patient through definitional changes. WSHA wants to ensure that any proposed changes to the ITA will not compromise patient access to timely and appropriate care. The ITA system is already overburdened and underfunded. Changes this big require equal investment, otherwise we will only aggravate existing challenges around getting people the right care at the right time.
2E2SSB 5720 passed the Senate in the 2019 legislative session but did not make it through the House Committee on Appropriations. The bill began this session in the Senate Committee on Rules. The Senate passed the bill Jan. 24, and the bill is now awaiting a hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary. Read WSHA’s issue brief for more information. (Jaclyn Greenberg)
2SSB 6311: Concerning persons with substance use disorder
WSHA supports 2SSB 6311, which would require the Health Care Authority to conduct a gap analysis of screening and referral services for patients with an indication of substance use disorder, opioid overdose or chronic addiction. WSHA had voiced strong concerns with previous versions of the bill. WSHA’s advocacy in this process helped shed light on issues with the legislation, which would have increased the number of patients referred to services without addressing access issues for patients seeking treatment. The latest version of the bill instead provides an opportunity to determine what supports and workforce needs should be addressed if such a mandate goes into effect. The bill passed Senate Ways and Means and is awaiting further consideration by the Senate. (Lauren McDonald)
2SSB 6281: Concerning the management and oversight of personal data
WSHA supports 2SSB 6281, which would create a general data privacy framework in Washington State. WSHA supports efforts to enhance consumers’ access to and control of their personal data. This new privacy framework would be the best in the country. It also acknowledges the robust privacy protections for health care information under existing federal and state laws through narrowly and carefully constructed exemptions. (Jaclyn Greenberg)
2SHB 1965: Qui tam for employment law violations
WSHA strongly opposes 2SHB 1965, which would authorize people to sue employers for violating workplace protections on behalf of state agencies in exchange for a portion of the monetary proceeds (known as qui tam). Washington State has an array of employment laws creating worker protections related to wages, safety, overtime, leave and more. State agencies have significant powers to enforce these laws and there is no evidence they cannot do so. California is the only state using this model, and it has led to significant abuse. If enacted in Washington State, it would incentivize frivolous and abusive lawsuits, equally penalizing bad actors and well-intentioned employers. Read WSHA’s issue brief for more information. HB 1965 died on the House floor in 2019 and begins where it left off, awaiting a vote by the full chamber. (Jaclyn Greenberg)
HB 2318: Sexual assault kits
WSHA supports HB 2318, which is a comprehensive bill that optimizes the storage and handling of evidence gathered during sexual assault examinations. The legislation addresses unreported sexual assault kits, previously held by hospitals, and directs local law enforcement to transport and store these kits. The bill passed the House Appropriations Committee and awaits further consideration by the House. Read more from the Jan. 13 Inside Olympia. (Lauren McDonald)
HB 1608: Protecting patient care
WSHA has concerns with HB 1608, which would prohibit hospitals and health care facilities from appropriately managing the types and quality of services provided by health care providers. Hospitals are committed to providing patients with the right care at the right time. This includes providing both lifesaving emergency care and accurate, comprehensive information. HB 1608 is undergoing amendments that abate its negative effects. The bill remains in House Rules, awaiting committee action. Read WSHA’s issue brief for more information. (Zosia Stanley)
High-priority bills still alive after cutoff
Bills WSHA Supports
| HB 1552 | Concerning health care provider credentialing by health carriers. |
| HB 1590 | Allowing the local sales and use tax for affordable housing to be imposed by a councilmanic authority. |
| SHB 2318 | Advancing criminal investigatory practices (sexual assault kits). |
| SHB 2326 | Reporting end-of-life care policies. |
| HB 2416 | Relating to disclosures of information and records related to forensic mental health services |
| SHB 2419 | Studying barriers to the use of the Washington death with dignity act. |
| SHB 2448 | Concerning enhanced services facilities. |
| SHB 2621 (companion to SB 6359) | Creating regulation exemptions for rural health clinics providing services in a designated home health shortage area. |
| SHB 2737 (companion to SB 6588) | Updating the children’s mental health work group |
| SHB 2883 (companion to SB 6634) | Expanding adolescent behavioral health care access
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| E2SSB 5483 | Improving services for individuals with developmental disabilities. |
| SSB 6040 | Concerning the budgeting process for certain state waiver services for individuals with developmental disabilities. |
| SSB 6209 | Joining the nurse licensure compact. |
| SSB 6275 | Increasing patient access rights to timely and appropriate post acute care. |
| 2SHB 6281 | Concerning the management and oversight of personal data |
| 2SSB 6311 | Concerning persons with substance use disorder |
| SSB 6358 | Requiring Medicaid managed care organizations to provide reimbursement of health care services provided by substitute providers. |
| SB 6359 (companion to SHB 2621) | Creating regulation exemptions for rural health clinics providing services in a designated home health shortage area. |
| SSB 6404 | Adopting prior authorization and appropriate use criteria in patient care. |
| SSB 6591 | Establishing a work group to address mental health advance directives |
Bills on which WSHA is neutral
| SSB 6058 | Concerning fire district health clinic services. |
| SSB 6234 | Concerning the use of third parties by employers to dispute unemployment claims. |
Bills with which WSHA has concerns or for which it is seeking amendments
| SHB 1826 | Concerning the disclosure of certain information during the discharge planning process |
| SHB 2363 | Providing remedies for violations of biometric data ownership rights. |
| SHB 2426 (and companion SSB 6274) | Protecting patient safety in psychiatric hospitals and other health care facilities. |
| 2E2SSB 5720 | Concerning the Involuntary Treatment Act |
Bills WSHA opposes
| 2SHB 1965 | Allowing whistleblowers to bring actions on behalf of the state for violations of workplace protections. |
| SHB 2036 | Concerning health system transparency. |
| SHB 2409 | Concerning industrial insurance employer penalties, duties, and the licensing of third-party administrators. |
| SSB 6440 | Concerning industrial insurance medical examinations. |
| SB 6552 | Eliminating the three-day waiting period for receiving industrial insurance compensation. |
WSHA Weighing In: February 8-14
WSHA is weighed in on the following bills this week:
Saturday, Feb. 8
- House Appropriations
- SHB 2036: Concerning health system transparency. (Zosia Stanley)
- SHB 2338: Prohibiting discrimination in health care coverage. (Andrew Busz)
- SHB 2419: Studying barriers to the use of the Washington death with dignity act. (Zosia Stanley)
- HB 2457: Establishing the health care cost transparency board. (If measure is referred to committee.) (Zosia Stanley)
- SHB 2554: Mitigating inequity in the health insurance market caused by health plans that exclude certain mandated benefits. (Andrew Busz)
- SHB 2737: Updating the children’s mental health work group. (Jaclyn Greenberg)
Monday, Feb. 10
- House Finance
- HB 2541: Creating the Washington rural development act. (Jacqueline Barton True)
- Senate Ways & Means
- SSB 6275: Increasing patient access rights to timely and appropriate post-acute care. (Zosia Stanley)
- SSB 6311: Concerning persons with substance use disorders. (Lauren McDonald)
- SSB 6400: Mitigating inequity in the health insurance market caused by health plans that exclude certain mandated benefits. (Andrew Busz)
- SSB 6404: Adopting prior authorization and appropriate use criteria in patient care. (Andrew Busz)
- SSB 6447: Requiring a coprescription of opioid overdose reversal medication. (Lauren McDonald)
- SSB 6534: Creating an ambulance transport quality assurance fee. (Andrew Busz)
- SSB 6591: Establishing a work group to address mental health advance directives. (Jaclyn Greenberg)
