2023 legislative review
Health Care
Amy Anderson : Health Care & Federal Issues
The Legislature passed several bills this year to help address severe workforce shortages in health care . Lawmakers approved a bill to enter Washington into the Nursing Licensure Compact , enacted by 38 other states . Nurses licensed in other compact states moving to Washington will be able to practice under one license instead of having to obtain a separate license . The compact will especially benefit military members and their spouses who move often . AWB has advocated for Washington to join the compact for six years .
“ It ’ s a bad piece of policy and they had an opportunity to address it before the tax starts to be collected .”
-Amy Anderson on the Legislature ’ s failure to fix the state ’ s long-term care program .
The Legislature also approved bills to allow dentists and dental hygienists , and audiologists and speech language pathologists to practice across state lines as part of interstate compacts .
Legislators also passed an important bill to address difficult-to-discharge Medicaid patients , a challenge for our state ’ s hospitals . The bill requires the state to reimburse hospitals for Medicaid patients who don ’ t meet the criteria for acute care yet are stuck in hospitals waiting for a community bed . Hospitals foot the bill for difficult-to-discharge patients , and this bill will help cover their costs .
On the negative side , lawmakers missed a major opportunity to fix the state ’ s troubled long-term care program , WA Cares . Gov . Jay Inslee delayed implementation of the program for 18 months in 2022 to allow lawmakers to fix key issues . AWB and more than 200 employers sent a letter urging the Legislature to fix or pause the program before payroll tax collections on employees began in July . We were disappointed that legislators took no action , and even ignored the recommendations of its own long-term care commission .
There are many issues to resolve with WA Cares : portability of benefits , lack of a wage cap , no rolling opt-in or opt-out process , and more . Changes to initial legislation passed in 2019 have created a program that is unclear , insolvent and does not meet the actual long-term care needs of Washingtonians .
SB 5499 multistate nurse licensure
Passed / AWB Supported sponsor : Sen . Mark Mullet , D-Issaquah
A long-time AWB priority , SB 5499 will help address critical health care workforce shortages . The bill enters Washington into the multistate nurse licensure compact , already enacted in 38 other states . The compact allows nurses licensed in compact states to practice across state lines under one license in other compact states . This will allow nurses from other states to work in Washington right away , while benefiting military spouses who move frequently . The Senate approved the bill 40-8 and the House 94-4 .
HB 1576 dentist compact
Passed / AWB Supported sponsor : Rep . Michelle Caldier , R-Gig Harbor
The bill creates a similar multistate licensure agreement for licensed dentists and dental hygienists , a step that will help address dental workforce shortages . It passed with unanimous approval .
HB 1001 audiology and speech compact
Passed / AWB Supported sponsor : Rep . Mari Leavitt , D-University Place
This is the third multistate licensure bill enacted by the Legislature in 2023 . It will create license reciprocity for audiologists and speech language pathologists to enable them to practice across state lines . The Legislature unanimously passed the measure .
HB 1073 medical assistants
Passed / AWB Supported sponsor : Rep . Paul Harris , R-Vancouver
This bill helps reduce discrepancies in the supervision and licensing requirements between Washington and Oregon , improving access to medical care . The bill extends the expiration of medical assistantcertified interim permit to the issuance of
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