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SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5854
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AS RECOMMENDED BY CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Passed Legislature - 1995 Regular Session
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995
Regular Session
By
Read first time 03/01/95.
Requiring that health plans must
allow women a choice of primary care providers.
AN ACT Relating to
women's health care; and adding a new section to chapter 48.42 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. A new section is added
to chapter 48.42 RCW to read as follows:
(1) For purposes of
this section, health care carriers includes disability insurers regulated under
chapter 48.20 or 48.21 RCW, health care services contractors regulated under
chapter 48.44 RCW, health maintenance organizations regulated under chapter
48.46 RCW, plans operating under the health care authority under chapter 41.05
RCW, the state health insurance pool operating under chapter 48.41 RCW, and
insuring entities regulated under chapter 48.43 RCW.
(2) For purposes of
this section and consistent with their lawful scopes of practice, types of
health care practitioners that provide women's health care services shall
include, but need not be limited by a health care carrier to, the following:
Any generally recognized medical specialty of practitioners licensed under
chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW who provides women's health care services;
practitioners licensed under chapters 18.57A and 18.71A RCW when providing
women's health care services; and advanced registered nurse practitioner
specialists in women's health and midwifery under chapter 18.79 RCW.
(3) For purposes of
this section, women's health care services shall include, but need not be
limited by a health care carrier to, the following: Maternity care;
reproductive health services; gynecological care; general examination; and
preventive care as medically appropriate and medically appropriate follow-up
visits for the services listed in this subsection.
(4) Health care
carriers shall ensure that enrolled female patients have direct access to timely
and appropriate covered women's health care services from the type of health
care practitioner of their choice in accordance with subsection (5) of this
section.
(5)(a) Health care
carrier policies, plans, and programs written, amended, or renewed after the
effective date of this act shall provide women patients with direct access to
the type of health care practitioner of their choice for appropriate covered
women's health care services without the necessity of prior referral from
another type of health care practitioner.
(b) Health care
carriers may comply with this section by including all the types of health care
practitioners listed in this section for women's health care services for women
patients.
(c)
Nothing in this section shall prevent health care carriers from restricting
women patients to seeing only health care practitioners who have signed
participating provider agreements with the health care carrier.
