2018 legislative review
Health Care
Amy Anderson: Health Care
With aspects of the Affordable Care Act being debated at the federal level, health care in the 2018 Washington state legislative session focused on the opioid crisis, drug pricing transparency and the individual health insurance market.
2SSB 6150 / SB 6050 / SB 6028 addressing the opioid crisis
Failed / AWB Neutral
With an estimated two people per day dying of an opioid- related episode in Washington, the Legislature unsuccessfully attempted to address the issue through legislative means this session. Second Substitute Senate Bill 6150 declared that opioid use is a public health crisis and would have required impacted state agencies to address the issue in a coordinated manner. Senate Bill 6050 and Senate Bill 6028 would have enacted restrictions on prescriptions for opioids. None of these bills passed. Rule making on the issue throughout the interim has the potential of getting to the desired results that the legislative process did not.
2SSB 5586 / SSB 6147 / SSB 5995 / HB 2501 prescription drug cost transparency
Failed / AWB Neutral
Aggregate costs of health care, including prescription drug costs, is the main driver of health care coverage pricing. Lawmakers introduced several bills in 2018 to address prescription drug pricing. Second Substitute Senate Bill 5586 would have required the collection of prescription drug pricing data provided by issuers and manufacturers. Substitute Senate Bill 6147 would have implemented a cost-effective requirement that ensures patients can rely on the prescription formulary they enter into with their insurance carrier through the entirety of the plan year; Substitute
Senate Bill 5995 would have addressed generic prescription drug prices; and finally, House Bill 2501 would have required the state’ s prescription monitoring program database to technologically align with all federally certified electronic health records.
Cost transparency in health care becomes difficult when addressing one specific point of cost, such as prescription drug costs, within the system. Addressing overall cost within the health care system will continue to be addressed at both the state and federal levels.
ESHB 1047 drug take-back program
Passed / AWB Neutral
Lawmakers passed legislation instating a drug take-bake program. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1047 requires manufacturers of pharmaceuticals that sell drugs in the state of Washington to develop a program that collects and disposes of over-the-counter drugs from residential sources. While this is yet another financial mandate on a manufacturer doing business in the state of Washington, the public benefit of safely disposing of unwanted pharmaceuticals is important.
2SSB 6062 establishing a reinsurance program
Failed / AWB Opposed
With the federal Affordable Care Act reinsurance program having expired in 2016, several states, including Washington, have introduced legislation to implement a state level reinsurance program. Bills to address this issue with the goal of stabilizing the individual health insurance market were introduced in the 2018 legislative session. AWB supports employer private market options and continues to encourage research and development of market-based solutions that provide more health care coverage options for consumers. However, the legislation introduced to stabilize the individual market, Second Substitute Senate Bill 6062, threatened other aspects of the market and AWB opposed it. The legislation failed to pass.
ESHB 2408 preserving access to individual market health care coverage
Passed / AWB Supported
One proposal that did pass, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2408, provides coverage in counties where an individual product is not available through the exchange. This product will be offered through the School Employees’ Benefits Board or the Public Employees’ Benefit Board. The goal of providing an insurance product to all Washington state citizens was achieved through the passage of ESHB 2408.
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