Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Bill would require hospitals to employ patient advocates daily by 2027; hospitals urge amendments

Washington State Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee · January 29, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

SB 5,823 would require licensed hospitals to employ patient advocates available every day across a 24‑hour period by Jan. 1, 2027, unless exempt; hospitals and patient groups support the concept but raised operational and independence concerns and suggested narrower, clarified language.

Senate Bill 5,823, sponsored by Sen. Adrian Cortez, would require licensed hospitals to employ a patient advocate who is physically present every day during a 24‑hour period to help patients navigate billing, financial assistance and medical records by Jan. 1, 2027, unless the facility meets exemption criteria. Committee staff told senators the…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans