We have now passed the cutoff for most bills to pass out of both the House and Senate, and bills that have passed both chambers are now headed for concurrence or to the governor for his action. We are pleased to report that bills WSHA supports, including SB 6273 (clarifying charity care), have passed both chambers. Many bills that WSHA opposed have died, including HB 1715 (nurse meals and breaks), SB 6015 (wrongful death) and HB 2114 (balance billing).... Read More >>

We have now passed the cutoff for most bills to make it out of committees in the opposite chamber, and we are heading into the final stretch of this year’s legislative session. We are happy to report that significant bills WSHA supports have made it through these deadlines and will now go to the floor for final action. ... Read More >>

The House and Senate have released their respective budgets. The good news is that there are no proposed cuts to hospitals in either budget.... Read More >>

Wednesday, February 14 was the cutoff for bills to be voted out of their house of origin and move to the opposite house for consideration. If a policy bill did not pass its house of origin, it is technically dead. Because bills can be amended, nothing is truly dead until the legislature adjourns. ... Read More >>

It was an exciting week leading up to Friday’s cutoff for bills to be voted out of their original policy committee. To make it easy, we’ve listed all of the major bills we’ve been tracking. ... Read More >>

We are rapidly approaching the first cutoff of the year February 2. As a result, a lot of policy bills are getting hearings this week, and committee executive sessions are hard at work.... Read More >>

WSHA's focus this week includes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, collection of involuntarily detained patient information, telemedicine parity and student loan repayment for rural physicians.... Read More >>

Bills continue to be written, introduced, revised and scheduled at a rapid pace. This week, we will testify on bills related to appropriate weapons policy, partnerships and affiliations and more.... Read More >>

The 2018 legislative session begins today, but WSHA has been preparing for months. It’s a short session, but WSHA still has a strong agenda for advancing health care.... Read More >>

Governor Jay Inslee released his proposed 2018 supplemental budget yesterday. This budget adds about $1 billion to fund basic education, but the governor also highlighted opioid use, emergency preparedness and mental health services as priorities.... Read More >>