2017 legislative review
Health Care
Sheri D. Nelson: Health Care
In what can only be referred to as the legislative session that would not end, the 2017 Washington legislative session offered limited health care policy solutions. The chaos surrounding the attempted repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act within the federal administration created an environment of uncertainty and concern among state agencies, industry stakeholders as well as the expanded Medicaid population in our state. A great deal of energy and effort was spent outside the walls of the Legislature as elected leaders, health care industry representatives, and employers, including AWB, strategized over the potential solutions, struggling to find policy solutions that could be enacted at a state level. The fate of the Affordable Care Act is still largely unknown and as the last special session came to a close, so did some of the fears that the Affordable Care Act would actually be
Sen. Randi Becker, majority caucus chair and vice chair of the Senate Health Care Committee.
repealed and / or replaced. The distraction of the federal politics was a factor in health care legislation being introduced this year at the state level, the majority of which did little to reduce the cost or increase access to care.
This session bills revolved around system fixes from previous legislation and refinements of current processes. Bills included addressing birth control prescriptions, interstate compacts for providers, doulas being made available to incarcerated pregnant women and nonprofits that wish to use dunk tanks and water slides without being shut down by Department of Health regulations. The confusion on the status of federal reimbursements for health care, essential health benefit deliverables, and the fate of state exchanges dominated the attention of all involved in health care.
Legislation that did not move forward yet we expect to see it reappear next session includes raising the smoking age to 21( House Bill 1054), balance billing( House Bill 1117) and drug takeback( House Bill 1047). AWB opposed the drug takeback bill as we do with all manufacturers takeback legislation. This bill first appeared in the Environment Committee several years ago and was moved to the Health Care Committee. Supporters say this concept will aid in fighting opioid abuse, however, there is no evidence as such for an extremely expensive program.
AWB continues to stay engaged with all health care entities in search of viable solutions for health care costs and access for employers and their employees. Premium cost for the individually insured continue to rise without additional benefits. The federal administration and Congress either need to act or find a way to utilize the Affordable Care Act so our state knows the rules of the game and can once again enact solid, effective health care policies.
38 association of washington business