Lori Grassi WSCA Executive of Legislation and Policy


2023 Legislative Session Status


Each year, the WSCA Board of Directors discusses policy ideas which then become our legislative goals, that we seek out legislators for sponsorship. Once we have legislators who will sponsor the bill it is then formally introduced. After being referred to the appropriate policy committee, we begin our work to have a committee hearing scheduled. Educating the committee members becomes our highest priority to assure that they are well-informed as to the issues behind the bill before a hearing is held, then we go back after the hearing to answer any questions that arise from the hearing. Getting a hearing, then voted out of committee, are the first couple of stages in our legislative process.


As of the time this article is written, we are approaching the first policy cut-off date. All bills introduced into their House of Origin must have a hearing and pass their policy committee by February 17, 2023. If a bill has a fiscal cost to the state, there will be another deadline just 7 days later where the bill must pass the fiscal committee, also. If a bill makes it through those two steps, then it is eligible for consideration by the entire House, or Senate, whichever chamber the bill was introduced.


There are two bills that have come from WSCA recommended language along with budget items that we are seeking:


HB 1655


Concerning provider contracting compensation. This bill, if passed, will require health insurance carriers give contracted providers annual inflation increases in their provider fee schedules based on the consumer price index.


We have notified members through multiple media to sign in support of the bill, send written testimony supporting the bill, and to contact legislators to support the bill. Member engagement will make the difference on this legislation moving from committee, or not. This bill is subject to the policy cut-off and will need to pass from committee by 2/17/2023.


SB 5066


Concerning healthcare benefit managers. This bill is a correction to the benefit manager registration legislation passed in 2020. The bill will require both carriers AND benefit managers to file their contracts with each other at


10 www .c hir o healt h.or g


the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC). Carriers are complaining that they already file these agreements, but if both entities aren’t filing their agreements with each other, the OIC cannot review them to see if there are inappropriate incentives to the benefit manager to block patient care.


When the bill was first implemented some benefit managers correctly understood that their contracts needed to be filed, where others challenged a technical part of the bill and did not file their contracts. Of those that did file their contracts the OIC was revealed inconsistencies in those filed contracts. Therefore, we need the correction on the bill – if the OIC doesn’t have the ability to see these contracts they cannot help providers when concerns arise.


Chiropractic in Adult Medicaid


As of the writing of this article, chiropractic care for adult Medicaid recipients is in all three budgets (House, Senate and Governor) and we are on track for the planned 1/1/2024 implementation date giving underserved adults in our community access to drugless care!


Loan Repayment


An additional policy objective includes securing eligibility for chiropractors to apply for loan repayment. This important policy measure is reserved for health professions where there are documented shortages. Our challenge to including chiropractors in this important policy is because it is generally reserved for professions that can show a shortage of providers, especially in rural areas and where there are no other providers. Chiropractors cannot show a documented shortage because your greatest attribute (getting patients in for appointments without making them wait) works against you when we seek to demonstrate shortages, just like when we attempt to force provider networks to add chiropractors in an urban population. We are sharing that the profession’s growth in Washington state has remained stagnant, and that chiropractors are able to offer relief to primary care providers when patients seeking pain management choose a chiropractor, along with arguments to support interruption of opioid use/abuse since a chiropractor will never prescribe a drug.


The following list of bills just a few that we are tracking on behalf of the profession:


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