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
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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
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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.
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CLYDE BALLARD
Speaker of the
House of Representatives
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MARTY BROWN
Secretary
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Approved May 16, 1995 Place
Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.
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FILED
May 16, 1995 - 1:40 p.m.
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MIKE LOWRY
Governor of the State of
Washington
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Secretary of State
State of Washington
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_______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5854
_______________________________________________
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.
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.