Wednesday, March 8 was house of origin cutoff, the third major milestone of the 2023 legislative session. This means that bills, with the exception of those necessary to implement the budget, must have been voted out of their respective chamber by March 8 in order to stay “alive” and move forward in the legislative process. During week nine, the Legislature devoted the first part of the week to debating and voting bills out of their respective chamber of origin, and the second part of the week to hearing bills in Committee. The Legislature will now spend the next few weeks, until March 29, hearing and voting bills out of Committee in the opposite chamber. Below is an update of WSDA’s week nine activities in Olympia.

Update on Legislation from Weeks 1-8 Blogs

Improving Consumer Affordability through the Health Care Cost Transparency Board (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1508)

ESHB 1508 seeks to improve consumer affordability through the Health Care Cost Transparency Board (Board) and authorizes the Board to enforce the health care cost growth benchmark.

A substitute bill, SHB 1508, was adopted by the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24. The substitute version prohibits the Board from requiring any health care organization that is composed of 25 or fewer health care professionals from having to submit a performance improvement plan or pay a civil fine for data submission violations or exceeding the health care cost growth benchmark. Further, the substitute requires the Health Care Authority (HCA), when establishing a civil fine schedule, to account for the relative starting price position of the payer or provider in relation to the health care cost growth benchmark, including primary care expenditure goals. SHB 1508 requires the HCA to notify a provider or payer in advance of public notice when requiring them to either submit a performance improvement plan or pay a civil fine. In addition, the substitute bill requires the Board to consider the same factors when determining whether or not to impose a performance improvement plan that it does when considering imposing a civil fine.

The House Appropriations Committee also adopted an amendment making SHB 1508 null and void unless funded in the budget.

On March 6, the House of Representatives adopted floor amendments, further modifying ESHB 1508. The  intent section of the bill now provides that action by the Board against entities exceeding the health care cost growth benchmark should be implemented in a progressive manner, including through technical assistance and performance improvement plans, before assessing fines. An additional amendment adds references to data collected by the Department of Health and the All-Payer Health Care Claims Database to the specified data sources that the Board may use and prohibits the Board from requiring reporting of the same or similar data from health care providers and payers if the data are available from existing sources. Furthermore, an amendment was adopted that applies the sharing of information under the prescription drug utilization reporting requirements to sharing all reported data, rather than only pharmacy benefit manager data, thus limiting the sharing of the data to only the Board and removes sharing the data with other health care cost analysis efforts. Lastly, an amendment was adopted requiring the HCA to adopt rules governing the health care cost growth benchmark, which  will be effective in 2026, by July 1, 2024.

ESHB 1508 passed out of the Senate – with a vote of 57 yeas, 38 nays, and 3 excused – on March 6, and floor action can be viewed on TVW [40:37-45:00].

SHB 1508 passed out of the House Appropriations Committee with a do pass recommendation on Feb. 24.

WSDA signed in CON on SHB 1508.

Collecting Health Care Professionals' Information at the Time of License Application and License Renewal (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1503)

ESHB 1503 requires applications for licensure or licensure renewal on or after July 1, 2024, to include the applicant’s race, ethnicity, gender, languages spoken, provider specialty (where applicable), primary practice location, and secondary practice location. On March 8, the House of Representatives adopted a floor amendment extending the date by which all license holders shall provide the above information to on or after July 1, 2025.

ESHB 1503 passed out of the House of Representatives unanimously – with 4 excused – on March 8, and floor action can be viewed on TVW [10:10-13:58].

ESHB 1503 passed out of the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee unanimously on Feb. 3.

WSDA signed in PRO on ESHB 1503.

Concerning Dental Hygienists (HB 1287)

HB 1287 removes the requirement for hygienists seeking initial licensure in Washington state to have worked 560 hours over the past 24 consecutive months. This legislation addresses just one of several barriers to licensure, and WSDA believes a more comprehensive approach, as proposed in ESHB 1466 and ESHB 1576, is needed. 

WSDA testified in support of HB 1287 during the bill’s public hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee on March 9, and testimony can be viewed on TVW [1:20:38-1:22:17].

HB 1287 passed out of the House of Representatives unanimously on Feb. 2, and floor action can be viewed on TVW [25:05-27:35].

WSDA testified in support of HB 1287 during the bill’s public hearing in the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee on Jan. 24, and testimony can be viewed on TVW [28:34-29:41].

Concerning Water Systems' Notice to Customers of Public Health Considerations (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1251)

ESHB 1251 requires a public water system to notify customers and the Department of Health of intentions to start or stop water fluoridation. Further, the bill requires a public water system in violation of the notification requirements to return fluoridation to its prior level until the notification requirements have been satisfied.

ESHB 1251 had a public hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee on March 10, and testimony can be viewed on TVW [1:00:15-1:23:55].

ESHB 1251 passed out of the House of Representatives unanimously – with one excused – on Feb. 9, and floor action can be viewed on TVW [6:05-10:55].

Dr. Chris Delecki, former WSDA President, testified in support of SHB 1251 during the bill’s public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Jan. 24, and Dr. Delecki’s testimony can be viewed on TVW [58:30-1:00:54].

Upcoming Hearings

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1503, which requires health professionals to submit demographic information upon initial licensure and renewal, is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee on March 14. More information on ESHB 1503 can be found above.

Senate Bill 5113, which allows any CODA-accredited dental school in Washington state to request temporary licensure for persons who have accepted faculty employment at the school, is scheduled for public hearing in the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee on March 14. More information on SB 5113 can be found on the WSDA blog.

Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5365, which prevents use of vapor and tobacco products by minors, is scheduled for public hearing in the House Regulated Substances & Gaming Committee on March 16. More information on ESSB 5365 can be found on the WSDA blog.

Questions?

Please contact WSDA at info@wsda.org.