Department of Health seeks authority, fees to continue accrediting opioid treatment programs
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Summary
SB 59 88 would authorize the Washington Department of Health to be an approved accrediting body for opioid treatment programs and set fees to cover accreditation costs; the department and tribal partners urged support to maintain state‑centered accreditation.
The committee heard Feb. 18 on SB 59 88, a Department of Health agency request bill to provide explicit statutory authority for the Department to serve as an approved accrediting body for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and to set fees to support accreditation services. Staff noted that since 2018 the Department has been an approved accrediting body under federal rules and the bill would allow charging fees and using opioid abatement settlement funds to offset costs.
Senator June Robinson, sponsor, said the measure is the department’s request and recommended committee passage. Megan Veith, policy director at the Department of Health, testified the department provides patient‑centered accreditation and that budget cuts have made the service financially unstable; without state accreditation, OTPs might need to turn to national accrediting bodies with greater burdens. Tribal and nontribal OTP partners were cited as originators of the request to preserve state services.
The committee closed testimony without taking a vote. Sponsors and agency staff said the bill responds to partner requests and seeks to sustain locally tailored accreditation services.
