Z-0590.2 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5454
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995 Regular Session
By Senators Quigley, Wojahn and Franklin; by request of Health Services Commission
Read first time 01/24/95. Referred to Committee on Health & Long‑Term Care.
AN ACT Relating to total quality management; amending RCW 43.72.070; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 43.72.070 and 1993 c 492 s 409 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) To ensure
the highest quality health services at the lowest total cost, the commission
shall establish a total quality management system of continuous quality
improvement. Such endeavor shall be based upon the recognized quality science
for continuous quality improvement. The commission shall impanel a committee
composed of persons from the private sector and related sciences who have broad
knowledge and successful experiences in continuous quality improvement and
total quality management applications. It shall be the responsibility of the
committee to develop quality standards for ((a Washington state
health services supplier certification process)) certified health plans
and recommend such standards, and the process for assuring that plans meet
such standards, to the commission for review and adoption. Once adopted,
the commission shall establish a schedule, with full compliance no later than
((July 1, 1996)) four years from the date of the plan's certification
by the office of the insurance commissioner to provide the uniform benefits
package, whereby all health ((service providers and health service
facilities)) plans shall ((be certified prior to providing
uniform benefits package services)) meet the requirements of the
commission's quality assurance and improvement rules and be accredited by an
approved quality review organization.
(2) The commission may delegate to the department of health, and subject to available funds and staffing, the department will carry out, activities necessary to implement the total quality management program developed by the commission. These activities include, but are not limited to, the following;
(a) Review and approval of the descriptions and timetable of the plans' quality improvement programs;
(b) Participation in the accreditation surveys and monitoring of the plan's progress in achieving accreditation;
(c) Oversight of approved quality review organizations;
(d) Recommendations to the commission and the office of the insurance commissioner as to whether the plan should be prohibited from accepting additional enrollment or should have its certification removed when a plan encounters difficulties achieving or maintaining accreditation; and
(e) Technical assistance to health plans related to their quality improvement activities and the accreditation process.
(3) The department of health may establish rules, as necessary, to carry out its responsibilities delegated to it under this section.
(4) The commission may also request that the department of health provide recommendations to the commission for the on-going development of a total quality improvement system.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1995.
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