The 2019 legislation begins today. This year’s session is the first in the two-year biennium and will last for 105 days, making it a “long” session. Policy bills will have 40 days to advance from their respective committees to the House or Senate floor. We expect hundreds of bills impacting health care to be introduced during this year’s session.... Read More >>

Today, Gov. Jay Inslee released a behavioral health plan for the state. This is a preview of his investments in behavioral health that will be in his proposed 2019-2021 budget, which will be released later in the week. WSHA has been very active in advocating for increased funding for behavioral health and developed a comprehensive 10-Point Behavioral Health Plan to highlight areas of need. We are pleased the governor proposes to fund all major budget items in WSHA’s 10-point plan.... Read More >>

The 2018 legislative session is officially a wrap. Below you will find a final roundup of bills from session we opposed and that died and ones we supported and that passed.... Read More >>

Lawmakers have released their compromise 2018 state supplemental budget. The budget is positive for hospitals, with increased funding for behavioral health and no proposed reimbursement cuts. WSHA has analyzed the budget. ... Read More >>

We have now passed the cutoff for most bills to pass out of both the House and Senate, and bills that have passed both chambers are now headed for concurrence or to the governor for his action. We are pleased to report that bills WSHA supports, including SB 6273 (clarifying charity care), have passed both chambers. Many bills that WSHA opposed have died, including HB 1715 (nurse meals and breaks), SB 6015 (wrongful death) and HB 2114 (balance billing).... Read More >>

We have now passed the cutoff for most bills to make it out of committees in the opposite chamber, and we are heading into the final stretch of this year’s legislative session. We are happy to report that significant bills WSHA supports have made it through these deadlines and will now go to the floor for final action. ... Read More >>

The House and Senate have released their respective budgets. The good news is that there are no proposed cuts to hospitals in either budget.... Read More >>

Wednesday, February 14 was the cutoff for bills to be voted out of their house of origin and move to the opposite house for consideration. If a policy bill did not pass its house of origin, it is technically dead. Because bills can be amended, nothing is truly dead until the legislature adjourns. ... Read More >>

It was an exciting week leading up to Friday’s cutoff for bills to be voted out of their original policy committee. To make it easy, we’ve listed all of the major bills we’ve been tracking. ... Read More >>

We are rapidly approaching the first cutoff of the year February 2. As a result, a lot of policy bills are getting hearings this week, and committee executive sessions are hard at work.... Read More >>