Providers back measure to limit duplicate reviews; lawmakers raise safety questions

House Bill 2230, heard in committee Tuesday, would require the Department of Social and Health Services to limit routine reviews of community residential service business providers to one annual review in specified subject areas (client finances, service plans, federal compliance, community integration, provider finances and general quality assurance) and to combine review activities where possible.

Omera Harrington, committee counsel, said the limitation would not apply to incident reports, investigations, mortality reviews or other oversight required by law. The bill also directs DSHS to adopt rules or policies to improve document and record sharing between divisions and minimize duplicated requests.

Jennifer Lingell, executive director of Total Living Concept and chair of the Community Residential Services Association, described overlapping visits: one 3-day quality-assurance audit followed six months later by a 10-day duplicate review that required extensive staff time and interrupted services. "These visits, while necessary for quality assurance, are also too frequent and done in duplicate," she said.

Scott Livengood, speaking for Alpha Support Living Services, said providers face a growing number of audits and evaluations and reported 25 distinct review activities in one inventory. He supported streamlining but asked that data be displayed as rates or ratios, not raw counts, and cautioned about any fiscal note attached to dashboard-like reporting requirements.

Members asked whether the bill would reduce needed random inspections; witnesses said the bill excludes incident-based oversight and aims only at redundancy reduction. The committee closed the public hearing on HB 2230 and took no vote during the session.

Next steps: sponsors and providers signaled willingness to collaborate on possible amendments to preserve safety while reducing duplication.