HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1351

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      Commerce & Labor

Title:  An act relating to the definition of hospital in regard to self insurers.

Brief Description:  Defining hospital in regard to self‑insurers.

Sponsors:  Representatives Veloria, Heavey, King and Lisk; by request of Department of Labor & Industries.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Commerce & Labor, February 12, 1993, DP.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 9 members:  Representatives Heavey, Chair; G. Cole, Vice Chair; Lisk, Ranking Minority Member; Chandler, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Conway; Horn; King; Springer; and Veloria.

Staff:  Chris Cordes (786-7117).

Background:  Under the state industrial insurance system, hospital employees may be covered through one of two self-insurance groups, one for public hospitals and one for private hospitals.  The definition of "hospital" for the purpose of authorizing these groups refers to a statute that was repealed in 1990 with the sunset of the Washington State Hospital Commission.

Summary of Bill:  The authority for hospitals to form industrial insurance self-insurance groups is amended by deleting the reference to a repealed definition of "hospital."  A new definition is added that includes hospitals under the hospital licensing statute and hospitals regulated as psychiatric hospitals, but excludes beds used by a comprehensive cancer center for cancer research.  A reference is deleted that limited the self-insurance group for non-public hospitals to not-for-profit hospitals.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The bill is needed to make a technical correction in the industrial insurance law that resulted from the sunset of the Washington State Hospital Commission.

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Jody Moran, Department of Labor and Industries.