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Legislature passed bills on children’s behavioral health, school supports and rural hospital rates
Summary
HCA staff summarized several bills passed this session that affect behavioral‑health systems: children/youth system‑of‑care leadership (2SHB 2429), school behavioral‑health coordination (3SHB 1634), PAL assessment flexibility (HB 2254), tribal hospital Medicaid rate increase (SSB 6194), and several other targeted measures; staff invited questions about local implementation.
Scott Tankersley, with the Health Care Authority’s behavioral‑health division, briefed the group on key legislation passed in the session that affects regional behavioral health services.
He said second substitute House Bill 2429 advances Washington’s statewide children and youth system‑of‑care by requiring the governor to establish a leadership council to coordinate and monitor implementation of the Washington Thriving strategic plan. Engrossed third substitute House Bill 1634 directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and educational service districts to develop a technical‑assistance and training framework to help school districts coordinate comprehensive behavioral‑health supports for students.
Scott described House Bill 2254 as agency‑request legislation that allows the Partnership Access Line (PAL) telephone programs to include reasonable administrative costs from a third‑party administrator in the proportional‑share funding model, supporting the PAL program’s sustainability. Substitute Senate Bill 6194 allows rural hospitals located on federally recognized Indian reservations to be paid at 150% of the fee‑for‑service Medicaid rate for inpatient and outpatient services beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Other measures Scott summarized included HB 2405 (a Department of Labor and Industries pilot to allow workers’ compensation coverage for PTSD treatment sessions), SB 5988 (authorizing the Department of Health to set accreditation fees for opioid treatment programs), SHB 2152 (permitting medical cannabis use in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices for qualifying terminal patients), and SHB 2476 (increasing theater license seat thresholds and adding alcohol‑control plan requirements where minors are present).
Scott invited members to raise any additional bills the region had been tracking; none were raised in the meeting.
