The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) has issued its CR-102 draft rule to implement E2SHB 1688. We are pleased to see the OIC made significant changes to the definition of “outpatient hospital department” in this proposed rule in response to WSHA’s comments. WSHA expressed concerns that the definition in the prepublication draft was more expansive than the definition used by Medicare and other payers. We argued it would have inadvertently applied to non-hospital locations or clinics affiliated with a hospital or health system. We ask that WSHA members review the revised language in the proposed rule and contact Andrew Busz at AndrewB@wsha.org with concerns.
The proposal aligns portions of the state’s Balance Billing Protection Act as amended by E2SHB 1688 with the federal No Surprises Act. Comments on the proposed rule language are due November 28, 2022 and should be sent to rulescoordinator@oic.wa.gov. OIC will host a public hearing on the rule via Zoom November 29, 2022 at 4:00pm. Participants must register in advance for the hearing. (Andrew Busz, AndrewB@wsha.org)
