CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

 

                  SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5854

 

                   Chapter 389, Laws of 1995

 

 

                        54th Legislature

                      1995 Regular Session

 

 

                  WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE SERVICES

 

 

                    EFFECTIVE DATE:  7/23/95

Passed by the Senate April 23, 1995

  YEAS 43   NAYS 0

 

 

 

JOEL PRITCHARD

President of the Senate

 

Passed by the House April 23, 1995

  YEAS 94   NAYS 2

             CERTIFICATE

 

I, Marty Brown, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5854 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

 

 

 

  CLYDE BALLARD

Speaker of the

      House of Representatives

MARTY BROWN

                            Secretary

 

 

Approved May 16, 1995 Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.

                                FILED          

 

 

             May 16, 1995 - 1:40 p.m.

 

 

 

    MIKE LOWRY

Governor of the State of Washington

                   Secretary of State

                  State of Washington


          _______________________________________________

 

                    SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5854

          _______________________________________________

 

              AS RECOMMENDED BY CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

 

             Passed Legislature - 1995 Regular Session

 

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

 

By Senate Committee on Health & Long‑Term Care (originally sponsored by Senators Haugen, Spanel, Wood, Prentice, Winsley, Rasmussen, Hale, Kohl, McCaslin, Fairley, Long, Loveland, Franklin, Roach, Moyer, Quigley, McAuliffe, Drew and Wojahn)

 

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.


    Passed the Senate April 23, 1995.

    Passed the House April 23, 1995.

Approved by the Governor May 16, 1995.

    Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 16, 1995.