State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/08/11.
AN ACT Relating to insurance coverage of tobacco cessation treatment in the preventative benefit required under the federal law; adding new sections to chapter 48.43 RCW; and providing a contingent expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 48.43 RCW
to read as follows:
To the extent required by federal law, a group or individual plan
contract that is issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after
September 23, 2010, must comply with the requirements of section 2713
of the federal public health service act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 200 gg-13), as
added by section 1001 of the federal patient protection and affordable
care act (P.L. 111-148), and any subsequent rules or regulations issued
pursuant to that section, to provide coverage for certain preventive
health services without imposing cost sharing.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 48.43 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Group and individual plan contracts issued, amended, renewed,
or delivered on or after January 1, 2012, must cover a minimum of two
courses of treatment in a twelve-month period for all tobacco cessation
treatments rated "A" or "B" by the United States preventive services
task force, which must include counseling and over-the-counter
medication and prescription pharmacotherapy approved by the federal
food and drug administration available in the plan's formulary or
preferred drug list.
(2) The coverage provided pursuant to this section is only
available upon the order of an authorized provider. Nothing in this
section precludes a health plan from allowing enrollees to access
tobacco cessation services on a self-referral basis.
(3) As used in this section, "course of treatment" means:
(a) As applied to counseling, at least four sessions of counseling,
which may be telephone, group, or individual counseling with each
session lasting at least ten minutes; or
(b) As applied to a prescription or over-the-counter medication,
the duration of treatment approved by the federal food and drug
administration for that medication.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 Section 2 of this act expires on December
31, 2013, or the date that the state determines that the requirements
of section 2 of this act will result in the state assuming additional
costs pursuant to U.S.C. Sec. 1311 of the federal patient protection
and affordable care act (P.L. 111-148), as amended by subsection (e) of
Sec. 10104 of Title X of that federal act, as that federal act existed
on the effective date of this section.