Committee cutoff for the 2020 Legislative Session has officially arrived. Friday, Feb. 7, marked the cutoff for bills to pass out of their policy committees of origin, while Tuesday, Feb. 11, marked the cutoff for bills to advance from fiscal committees. A bill can be revived by amending its language onto another bill, but for the most part, bills that weren’t voted out of committee have died.
I am excited to let you know that WSHA’s high-priority bills are alive and advancing to the next phase of the legislative session. Specifically, WSHA has been very involved in advocating for proposals on difficult to discharge patients, prior authorization data and standardization, payments for substitute providers, a rural home health fix for underserved areas and telemedicine payment parity. All of the bills addressing these topics are continuing to move forward.
Many of our members have joined us in testifying on these bills throughout legislative session, as well as meeting with legislators during WSHA’s Hospital Advocacy Days – thank you for your support in coordinating our advocacy efforts, and congratulations! We have truly come together to champion improving health care in Washington State.
The next big milestones in legislative session will be on Wednesday, Feb. 19 when bills must pass their committee of origin to stay alive. Also, we expect the House and Senate to release their supplemental budgets next week. Please view the latest Inside Olympia for further details.
