With the 2022 legislative session having passed the halfway mark, WSDA continues to track several bills concerning health care, public health, small business matters, and much more.

Below is a brief update on a few key bills that continue to advance through the legislative process, an update on dental therapy and dental workforce, budget item requests, and how to stay involved during the legislative session.

Key Bills

• Water Fluoridation - Substitute House Bill 1684 - Concerning public health and fluoridation of drinking water.
  • The bill requires water systems serving 5,000 or more people per day that do not currently provide fluoridation to undertake an analysis of the cost of implementing and maintaining fluoridation when planning. SHB 1684 also requires the State Board of Health to adopt rules to facilitate and support water systems to implement fluoridation and requires the Office of Drinking Water to create a program to aid water systems with engineering assistance as long as the water system includes engineering analysis to implement or upgrade fluoridation. In addition, SHB 1684 requires water systems considering discontinuing fluoridation to notify customers at least 90 days prior to a vote or decision on the matter. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Health (DOH) to conduct oral health equity assessments to identify unmet oral health needs and to develop recommendations to increase access to community water fluoridation. The DOH must provide a report to the Legislature on the assessment and on recommendations for increasing access to fluoridated water by June 20, 2023.

    
    WSDA supports SHB 1684.

• Ergonomics Rules - Engrossed House Bill 1837 - Restoring the state's ability to address work-related musculoskeletal injuries and ergonomics. More information on HB 1837 can be found in WSDA’s blog post here.
  • The bill repeals the restriction on the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) from regulating work-related musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomics, except for home offices.
  • EHB 1837 gives L&I unnecessary and unchecked ergonomics rulemaking authority to decide virtually every aspect of workplace operations. Workers are already protected under current law and able to receive workers’ compensation for ergonomics injuries.

    
    WSDA opposes EHB 1837.

• Improving Health Outcomes - Substitute Senate Bill 5912 - Improving health outcomes for children on Medicaid.
  • The bill requires the Health Care Authority to align Apple Health's (Medicaid) schedule for providing early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment benefits with the Bright Future Guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Bright Futures Guidelines encourages parents that by 12 months a child should be seen by a dentist every 6 months.
    
    WSDA supports SSB 5912.

Dental Therapists 

Both dental therapy bills, Senate Bill 5142 and House Bill 1885, are dead for the session.

Similar to previous versions, SB 5142 would have allowed dental therapists to supervise expanded function dental auxiliaries and dental assistants, perform irreversible procedures, and, if permitted under a written practice plan contract with a supervising dentist, provide services without the prior examination or diagnosis of a dentist and without a dentist being on site.

HB 1885 incorporated recommendations from the Dental Therapy Task Force, which met between July and November of 2021. The Task Force was composed almost entirely of dental therapy proponents and convened over a short, 5-month timeframe. Like SB 5142, HB 1885 would have established the profession of dental therapy statewide. Additionally, HB 1885 would have provided a pathway to licensure for graduates of non-CODA accredited dental therapy schools if applicants complete a minimum 400-hour preceptorship under the close supervision of a dentist and would have created the Board of Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene to regulate both dental therapists and dental hygienists. Finally, under the bill, the services dental therapists can provide would have expanded to include comprehensive charting of the oral cavity; fabrication of temporary crowns; identification of oral and systemic conditions requiring evaluation and treatment by a dentist, physician, or other health care provider, and management of referrals; and, other related services and functions for which the dental therapist has been educated and trained and to the extent authorized by the supervising dentist.

Dental Workforce

In an effort to address the serious shortage of dental hygienists and dental assistants in Washington state, WSDA, in partnership with Delta Dental of Washington (DDWA), introduced Senate Bill 5949.

SB 5949 would have made it easier and faster for in state and out-of-state dental hygienists, in good standing, to obtain a core hygiene license, while also maintaining a pathway for hygienists wanting to place restorations and/or administer nitrous oxide and local anesthesia. The bill also would have created a “Preventive Dental Assistant” license that permits licensees to provide basic preventive care. All applicants would have needed to demonstrate competency as determined by the Dental Quality Assurance Commission in order to become licensed.

Additionally, SB 5949 would have allowed the Commission to undergo rulemaking to determine which duties a dentist may delegate to a dental assistant under general supervision and enable the Commission to require continuing education for expanded function dental auxiliaries. Unfortunately, SB 5949 did not receive a hearing and is dead for the session.

Budget Item Requests

Below are the budget items WSDA has requested be included in the 2021-23 Supplemental Operating Budget. Please note that these requests are not guaranteed to be included in the budget and the dollar amounts are subject to change. WSDA will provide an update when the final budget is adopted.

State Board of Community and Technical Colleges Dental Education - $75,000

WSDA and DDWA have requested $75,000 for the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges to work with dental industry stakeholders to create a report and recommendations to the Legislature on strategies to transform the education and training of dental hygiene and dental assisting professions. The report to the Legislature is to be delivered no later than December 1, 2022.

University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies - $225,000

WSDA and DDWA have requested $225,000 for the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies to develop a program to track dental workforce trends, needs and enhancements to better serve Washington’s increasing population and demand for access to adequate oral health care.

Pediatric Medicaid Reimbursement Rate Increase - $4.7 million ($2,558,498 GF-S; $2,128,618 GF-F) in the 2021-23 Supplemental Operating Budget. This investment is in addition to the $15.7 million investment included in the Governor’s budget.

WSDA has requested an investment in the program to increase access to care through increased reimbursement rates for pediatric dental Medicaid providers. Increased funding will enable providers to cover the costs to provide care, enable more providers to participate in the program, and lead to increased access to care for our state’s most vulnerable populations. 

How to Stay Involved

Throughout legislative session, it is important to be engaged and informed on issues that may impact your profession, your practice, and your patients. Below are three ways you can continue to stay involved.

1. Sign up for Phone2Action by texting “WSDA” to the number 52886. Phone2Action will send you text message alerts when action is most necessary on critical dental issues. By simply clicking a link in a text message, you will be able to contact your legislators about dental issues via email. Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to sign up.
2. Sign in to state your position on a bill. Stating your position will give legislators an idea of how many people support or oppose a bill. Registered positions will be made available to legislative members and staff of the committee and will be included in the legislative record. Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to state your position without testifying. WSDA will notify members when they should sign in on a bill.
3. Watch the Legislature. During session, you can watch the Legislature on TVW, Washington state’s version of C-SPAN. You can access TVW by visiting www.tvw.org, downloading the TVW mobile app, or checking out TVW’s Channel Locator to find your local cable provider's channel location on the Dial.

Questions? Please contact info@wsda.org.