Senate Health & Long Term Care advances three House bills in executive session; holds wide-ranging hearings on crisis care, parity, peers and provider pay

The Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee on March 25 advanced three House bills during an executive session and held public hearings on several bills tied to behavioral health, mental health parity and provider reimbursement.

The executive-session votes were voice votes; committee members then heard extended testimony on bills that would realign crisis services under Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations (BHASOs), create billing pathways for certified peer support specialists, require negotiating opportunities for independent providers, mandate evidence‑based clinical criteria for mental health medical‑necessity decisions, and require payment parity for advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants in primary and behavioral health.

Why it matters: The bills under discussion affect how Washington funds and manages crisis stabilization, how Medicaid and commercial plans reimburse community providers and peers, and how insurers apply clinical criteria when authorizing mental health and substance use disorder care — all issues with immediate consequences for access to care, county and local budgets, and insurer premiums.

Votes at a glance

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 13 95 (streamlining home care worker background checks): Committee adopted a striking amendment (S-2373.3) and the committee voted to give the bill a "due pass" recommendation and send it to the Rules Committee. The measure passed the committee by voice vote and was reported "passed subject to signatures." The committee recorded at least one named dissent during the vote.

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 15 31 (preserving ability of public officials to address communicable diseases): The committee voted to give the bill a "due pass" recommendation and send it to the Rules Committee; the bill was reported "passed subject to signatures." A named dissent was recorded.

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 19 71 (increasing access to prescription hormone therapy): The committee voted to give the bill a "due pass" recommendation and send it to the Ways and Means Committee; the bill was reported "passed subject to signatures." There was recorded opposition in the roll call discussion and at least one named "no."

Formal actions in the executive session were announced as voice votes and recorded in the minutes as "passed subject to signatures." The committee noted members who reserved floor amendments or who would bring amendments later in the Senate floor debate.

Behavioral‑health crisis services (Engrossed 2nd Substitute House Bill 18 13)

The committee reopened a public hearing on Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 18 13, sponsored by Representative Nicole Macri, which directs the Health Care Authority (HCA) to develop a model of crisis delivery for each BHASO region, adjust Medicaid rates and state contracts to reflect changes in facility capacity, adopt a strategic procurement plan for Medicaid managed care contracts, and require MCOs by Jan. 1, 2026 to establish or expand delegation arrangements with BHASOs for crisis services.

Representative Nicole Macri (prime sponsor) told the committee she brought the bill because "people are not getting the care they need in a timely way," and described…