Senate Health & Long Term Care advances 13 health bills in executive session; substitutes adopted and due-pass recommendations issued

The Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee met in executive session Feb. 21 and advanced 13 bills to the next steps in the legislative process, adopting proposed substitutes on several measures and issuing due-pass recommendations to Rules or Ways and Means as appropriate.

The committee adopted a proposed substitute for Senate Bill 5112 to create a prescribing psychologist certification, with provisions limiting which medications certified psychologists may prescribe and clarifying supervisory relationships with primary-care clinicians. Senator Bateman, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure creates an additional pathway for behavioral-health services and “for some patients, that means getting access to medication.” Senator Orwell thanked the sponsor for narrowing the bill and emphasized the importance of coordination between primary care and psychologists when medications are used alongside psychotherapy.

The panel also adopted a substitute to narrow Senate Bill 5121 on health-plan coverage for fertility-related services; the substitute removes the individual and small-group markets while retaining coverage in large-group plans and certain Medicaid provisions. Senator Slatter said the change reflects budget realities while preserving broader access goals and chamber alignment.

On patient records, the committee adopted Senator Orwell’s substitute to modify a $50 cap for providing medical records: the cap will apply to electronically stored and delivered records, the HIPAA fee schedule remains part of the statute, and an adopted striking amendment limits a $50 attorney access provision to a one-time request in a five-year window. During discussion, senators clarified that the $50 figure will appear in statute and that the limitation applies to attorneys obtaining records for the fee, not to a patient’s own requests.

Senate Bill 5351, targeting unfair dental-insurance practices, moved forward with a substitute that prohibits carriers from denying claims solely because a procedure occurred the same day and directs the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to contract with the Ruckelshaus Center to convene stakeholders on dental loss ratios and in-/out-of-network payments. An amendment clarified that dentures considered in that forum would come from the Washington Dental Association.

The committee advanced a substitute to broaden the corporate-practice restrictions in Senate Bill 5387 from medical practices to health-care practices generally, clarify hospital and telemedicine exemptions, and add Department of Health authority to investigate violations. Two amendments that would have carved dentists and dental hygienists out of the bill failed; the committee retained provisions aimed at preserving clinical decision-making by licensed providers.

Senate Bill 5395 on prior-authorization transparency and accountability moved with a substitute that, among other changes, removes personal identifiers from notices, drops a requirement for routine peer-to-peer consultations, modifies language about periodic updates to criteria, and removes references to algorithms/software tools in the statutory text.

Other measures the committee advanced included Senate Bill 5498 on contraceptive coverage (no amendments), Senate Bill 5504 directing the Health Care Authority (HCA) to seek CMS consultation and to report on feasibility of a state plan amendment for payment to home health agencies for complex care services (report due 01/01/2026, consultation sought by 12/01/2025), Senate Bill 5557 to codify emergency rules protecting pregnant patients’ access to emergency care (with language adjusted to harmonize with the Pregnant Patients Act and to clarify transfer and standard-of-care requirements), and Senate Bill 5579 restricting early public notices of potential contract terminations by carriers/providers until 45 days before a termination unless legally required (and directing OIC to develop notice templates and approve notices).

The panel also advanced coverage bills: Senate Bill 5629 (prosthetic limbs and custom orthotic braces), Senate Bill 5672 (delay of home-care aide certification requirements), and Senate Bill 5683 on transparency and timeliness of claims payments (directing OIC and HCA to organize complaint reporting by carrier and clarifying data submission form/manner). Several members noted the human impact behind proposals — for example, sponsors and members described testimony about families needing complex pediatric home care and people requiring prosthetic devices.

Votes at a glance (committee action, voice votes unless noted): - SB 5112 (prescribing psychologist certification), proposed substitute S-1712.2 — proposed substitute adopted; proposed substitute received a due-pass recommendation to Rules; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5121 (fertility-related coverage), proposed substitute S-1713.1 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Ways & Means; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5254 (patient records access and fees), proposed substitute S-1531.1 and striking amendment S-1773.1 — amendment adopted; substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Ways & Means; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5351 (dental-insurance practices), proposed substitute S-1714.1 with amendment S-1785.1 — amendment adopted and rolled into substitute; substitute received a due-pass recommendation to Rules; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5387 (corporate practice of medicine → health-care practice), proposed substitute S-1680.1 with amendments S-1772.1 and S-1771.1 — amendments debated; S-1772.1 (carve-out for dentists/hygienists) was not adopted; final proposed substitute received a due-pass recommendation to Ways & Means; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5395 (prior authorization transparency), proposed substitute S-1767.1 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Ways & Means; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5498 (contraceptive coverage) — no amendments; bill received further consideration (no amendments adopted noted); bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5504 (supporting caregivers/complex pediatric care), proposed substitute S-1784.1 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Ways & Means; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). HCA directed to seek CMS consultation by 12/01/2025 and to report feasibility by 01/01/2026 (statutory tasks in the substitute). - SB 5557 (codifying emergency rules for pregnant patients), proposed substitute S-1644.2 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Rules; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5579 (limits on early notices of contract termination), proposed substitute S-1716.1 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Rules; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5629 (prosthetic limbs and custom orthotics), proposed substitute S-1660.1 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Rules; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). - SB 5672 (delay home-care-aide certification) — no amendments; bill received a due-pass recommendation to Rules; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified). Committee discussion noted an upcoming performance audit by the State Auditor. - SB 5683 (claims payment timeliness/transparency), proposed substitute S-1661.1 — proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation to Ways & Means; bill passed subject to signatures (voice vote; counts not specified).

The committee advanced all listed bills by voice votes; most actions were adoption of proposed substitutes followed by committee recommendations to Rules or Ways and Means as noted above. Several senators thanked stakeholders and advocacy groups for collaborative negotiations that shaped the substitutes.

What comes next: Bills that received due-pass recommendations will be reported out of committee to Rules or Ways and Means; some measures (notably SB 5504) include follow-up requirements and deadlines for HCA and CMS consultation or reporting. Several members indicated further refinements may occur in later drafting or in the next chamber.

Sources: Staff briefings and committee discussion during the Feb. 21, 2025 executive session of the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee. Direct excerpts and attributions to senators are drawn from the committee transcript.