H-1849.1
HOUSE BILL 1651
State of Washington | 67th Legislature | 2022 Regular Session |
ByRepresentatives Thai, Macri, Bateman, Ryu, Berry, Ramel, Duerr, Valdez, Callan, Cody, Davis, Simmons, Bergquist, Kloba, Pollet, Frame, Harris-Talley, and Taylor
Prefiled 12/16/21.Read first time 01/10/22.Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.
AN ACT Relating to allowing providers to bill separately for immediate postpartum contraception; adding a new section to chapter
41.05 RCW; adding a new section to chapter
48.43 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that healthy birth spacing helps reduce adverse health outcomes for both parents and babies. The legislature further finds that increasing immediate postpartum access to contraception, before a patient is discharged from the hospital or birthing center, is critical to maternal and newborn health and that immediate postpartum contraception is associated with longer contraceptive coverage, fewer unintended pregnancies, and cost savings for payers and health care systems. To help achieve these outcomes, it is the intent of the legislature to increase access to immediate postpartum contraception by requiring commercial health insurers to pay for immediate postpartum contraception separately from the maternity bundle in a manner that mirrors the payment process for immediate postpartum contraception used by the state's medicaid program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter
41.05 RCW to read as follows:
(1) For births taking place in a licensed hospital or birthing center, a health plan offered to employees and their covered dependents must allow a provider to separately bill for devices, implants, professional services, or a combination thereof, associated with immediate postpartum contraception and may not consider such devices, implants, services, or combinations thereof to be part of any payments for general obstetric procedures.
(2) For purposes of this section, "immediate postpartum contraception" means the postpartum insertion of intrauterine devices or contraceptive implants performed before the patient is discharged from the hospital or birthing center and includes the devices or implants themselves.
(3) This section does not apply to facility services associated with immediate postpartum contraception.
(4) Nothing in this section affects an enrollee's right to directly access women's health care services, including contraceptive services.
(5) This section applies to health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2023.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter
48.43 RCW to read as follows:
(1) For births taking place in a licensed hospital or birthing center, a health plan must allow a provider to separately bill for devices, implants, professional services, or a combination thereof, associated with immediate postpartum contraception and may not consider such devices, implants, services, or combinations thereof to be part of any payments for general obstetric procedures.
(2) For purposes of this section, "immediate postpartum contraception" means the postpartum insertion of intrauterine devices or contraceptive implants performed before the patient is discharged from the hospital or birthing center and includes the devices or implants themselves.
(3) This section does not apply to facility services associated with immediate postpartum contraception.
(4) Nothing in this section affects an enrollee's right to directly access women's health care services, including contraceptive services.
(5) This section applies to health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2023.
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