AN
ACT Relating to abolishing the state health care policy board; amending RCW
41.05.021, 43.70.054, 43.70.066, 43.70.068, 43.72.300, and 43.72.310;
reenacting and amending RCW 42.17.310; adding a new section to chapter 43.72
RCW; repealing RCW 43.72.320, 43.73.010, 43.73.020, 43.73.030, and 43.73.040;
repealing 1996 c 281 s 2 (uncodified); providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
41.05.021 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 6 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The Washington state health care authority is created within the executive
branch. The authority shall have an administrator appointed by the governor,
with the consent of the senate. The administrator shall serve at the pleasure
of the governor. The administrator may employ up to seven staff members, who
shall be exempt from chapter 41.06 RCW, and any additional staff members as are
necessary to administer this chapter. The administrator may delegate any power
or duty vested in him or her by this chapter, including authority to make final
decisions and enter final orders in hearings conducted under chapter 34.05
RCW. The primary duties of the authority shall be to: Administer state
employees' insurance benefits and retired or disabled school employees'
insurance benefits; administer the basic health plan pursuant to chapter 70.47
RCW; study state-purchased health care programs in order to maximize cost
containment in these programs while ensuring access to quality health care; and
implement state initiatives, joint purchasing strategies, and techniques for
efficient administration that have potential application to all state-purchased
health services. The authority's duties include, but are not limited to, the
following:
(a)
To administer health care benefit programs for employees and retired or
disabled school employees as specifically authorized in RCW 41.05.065 and in
accordance with the methods described in RCW 41.05.075, 41.05.140, and other
provisions of this chapter;
(b)
To analyze state-purchased health care programs and to explore options for cost
containment and delivery alternatives for those programs that are consistent
with the purposes of those programs, including, but not limited to:
(i)
Creation of economic incentives for the persons for whom the state purchases
health care to appropriately utilize and purchase health care services,
including the development of flexible benefit plans to offset increases in
individual financial responsibility;
(ii)
Utilization of provider arrangements that encourage cost containment, including
but not limited to prepaid delivery systems, utilization review, and
prospective payment methods, and that ensure access to quality care, including
assuring reasonable access to local providers, especially for employees
residing in rural areas;
(iii)
Coordination of state agency efforts to purchase drugs effectively as provided
in RCW 70.14.050;
(iv)
Development of recommendations and methods for purchasing medical equipment and
supporting services on a volume discount basis; and
(v)
Development of data systems to obtain utilization data from state-purchased
health care programs in order to identify cost centers, utilization patterns,
provider and hospital practice patterns, and procedure costs, utilizing the
information obtained pursuant to RCW 41.05.031;
(c)
To analyze areas of public and private health care interaction;
(d)
To provide information and technical and administrative assistance to the
board;
(e)
To review and approve or deny applications from counties, municipalities, and
other political subdivisions of the state to provide state-sponsored insurance
or self-insurance programs to their employees in accordance with the provisions
of RCW 41.04.205, setting the premium contribution for approved groups as
outlined in RCW 41.05.050;
(f)
To appoint a health care policy technical advisory committee as required by RCW
41.05.150;
(g)
To establish billing procedures and collect funds from school districts and
educational service districts under RCW 28A.400.400 in a way that minimizes the
administrative burden on districts; and
(h)
To promulgate and adopt rules consistent with this chapter as described in RCW
41.05.160.
(2)
On and after January 1, 1996, the public employees' benefits board may
implement strategies to promote managed competition among employee health
benefit plans. Strategies may include but are not limited to:
(a)
Standardizing the benefit package;
(b)
Soliciting competitive bids for the benefit package;
(c)
Limiting the state's contribution to a percent of the lowest priced qualified
plan within a geographical area;
(d)
Monitoring the impact of the approach under this subsection with regards to:
Efficiencies in health service delivery, cost shifts to subscribers, access to
and choice of managed care plans state-wide, and quality of health services.
The health care authority shall also advise on the value of administering a
benchmark employer-managed plan to promote competition among managed care
plans. The health care authority shall report its findings and recommendations
to the legislature by January 1, 1997.
(3)
The health care authority shall, no later than July 1, 1996, submit to the
appropriate committees of the legislature, proposed methods whereby, through
the use of a voucher-type process, state employees may enroll with any health
carrier to receive employee benefits. Such methods shall include the employee
option of participating in a health care savings account, as set forth in Title
48 RCW.
(((4)
The Washington health care policy board shall study the necessity and
desirability of the health care authority continuing as a self-insuring entity
and make recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature by
December 1, 1996.))
Sec.
2. RCW
43.70.054 and 1995 c 267 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
To promote the public interest consistent with chapter 267, Laws of 1995, the
department of health, in cooperation with the ((health care policy board and
the)) information services board established under RCW 43.105.032, shall
develop health care data standards to be used by, and developed in
collaboration with, consumers, purchasers, health carriers, providers, and
state government as consistent with the intent of chapter 492, Laws of 1993 as
amended by chapter 267, Laws of 1995, to promote the delivery of quality health
services that improve health outcomes for state residents. The data standards
shall include content, coding, confidentiality, and transmission standards for
all health care data elements necessary to support the intent of this section,
and to improve administrative efficiency and reduce cost. Purchasers, as
allowed by federal law, health carriers, health facilities and providers as
defined in chapter 48.43 RCW, and state government shall utilize the data
standards. The information and data elements shall be reported as the
department of health directs by rule in accordance with data standards
developed under this section.
(2)
The health care data collected, maintained, and studied by the department under
this section((, the health care policy board,)) or any other entity:
(a) Shall include a method of associating all information on health care costs
and services with discrete cases; (b) shall not contain any means of
determining the personal identity of any enrollee, provider, or facility; (c)
shall only be available for retrieval in original or processed form to public
and private requesters; (d) shall be available within a reasonable period of
time after the date of request; and (e) shall give strong consideration to data
standards that achieve national uniformity.
(3)
The cost of retrieving data for state officials and agencies shall be funded
through state general appropriation. The cost of retrieving data for
individuals and organizations engaged in research or private use of data or
studies shall be funded by a fee schedule developed by the department that
reflects the direct cost of retrieving the data or study in the requested form.
(4)
All persons subject to this section shall comply with departmental requirements
established by rule in the acquisition of data, however, the department shall
adopt no rule or effect no policy implementing the provisions of this section
without an act of law.
(5)
The department shall submit developed health care data standards to the
appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 1995.
Sec.
3. RCW
43.70.066 and 1995 c 267 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The department of health ((in consultation with the health policy board))
shall study the feasibility of a uniform quality assurance and improvement
program for use by all public and private health plans and health care
providers and facilities. In this study, the department shall consult with:
(a)
Public and private purchasers of health care services;
(b)
Health carriers;
(c)
Health care providers and facilities; and
(d)
Consumers of health services.
(2)
In conducting the study, the department shall propose standards that meet the
needs of affected persons and organizations, whether public or private, without
creation of differing levels of quality assurance. All consumers of health
services should be afforded the same level of quality assurance.
(3)
At a minimum, the study shall include but not be limited to the following
program components and indicators appropriate for consumer disclosure:
(a)
Health care provider training, credentialing, and licensure standards;
(b)
Health care facility credentialing and recredentialing;
(c)
Staff ratios in health care facilities;
(d)
Annual mortality and morbidity rates of cases based on a defined set of
procedures performed or diagnoses treated in health care facilities, adjusted
to fairly consider variable factors such as patient demographics and case
severity;
(e)
The average total cost and average length of hospital stay for a defined set of
procedures and diagnoses;
(f)
The total number of the defined set of procedures, by specialty, performed by
each physician at a health care facility within the previous twelve months;
(g)
Utilization performance profiles by provider, both primary care and specialty
care, that have been adjusted to fairly consider variable factors such as
patient demographics and severity of case;
(h)
Health plan fiscal performance standards;
(i)
Health care provider and facility recordkeeping and reporting standards;
(j)
Health care utilization management that monitors trends in health service
underutilization, as well as overutilization of services;
(k)
Health monitoring that is responsive to consumer, purchaser, and public health
assessment needs; and
(l)
Assessment of consumer satisfaction and disclosure of consumer survey results.
(4)
In conducting the study, the department shall develop standards that permit
each health care facility, provider group, or health carrier to assume
responsibility for and determine the physical method of collection, storage,
and assimilation of quality indicators for consumer disclosure. The study may
define the forms, frequency, and posting requirements for disclosure of
information.
In
developing proposed standards under this subsection, the department shall
identify options that would minimize provider burden and administrative cost
resulting from duplicative private sector data submission requirements.
(5)
The department shall submit a preliminary report to the legislature by December
31, 1995, including recommendations for initial legislation pursuant to
subsection (6) of this section, and shall submit supplementary reports and
recommendations as completed, consistent with appropriated funds and staffing.
(6)
The department shall not adopt any rule implementing the uniform quality
assurance program or consumer disclosure provisions unless expressly directed
to do so by an act of law.
Sec.
4. RCW
43.70.068 and 1995 c 267 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
((No
later than July 1, 1995, the health care policy board together with)) The
department of health, the health care authority, the department of social and
health services, the office of the insurance commissioner, and the department
of labor and industries shall form an interagency group for coordination and
consultation on quality assurance activities and collaboration on final
recommendations for the study required under RCW 43.70.066. ((By December
31, 1996, the group shall review all state agency programs governing health
service quality assurance, in light of legislative actions pursuant to RCW
43.70.066(6), and shall recommend to the legislature, the consolidation,
coordination, or elimination of rules and programs that would be made
unnecessary pursuant to the development of a uniform quality assurance and
improvement program.))
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5. A
new section is added to chapter 43.72 RCW to read as follows:
As
used in this chapter, "health carrier," "health care
provider," "provider," "health plan," and "health
care facility" have the same meaning as provided in RCW 48.43.005.
Sec.
6. RCW
43.72.300 and 1993 c 492 s 447 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The legislature recognizes that competition among health care providers,
facilities, payers, and purchasers will yield the best allocation of health
care resources, the lowest prices for health care services, and the
highest quality of health care when there exists a large number of buyers and
sellers, easily comparable health ((care)) plans and services, minimal
barriers to entry and exit into the health care market, and adequate
information for buyers and sellers to base purchasing and production
decisions. However, the legislature finds that purchasers of health care
services and health care coverage do not have adequate information upon which
to base purchasing decisions; that health care facilities and providers of
health care services face legal and market disincentives to develop economies
of scale or to provide the most cost-efficient and efficacious service; that
health insurers, contractors, and health maintenance organizations face market
disincentives in providing health care coverage to those Washington residents
with the most need for health care coverage; and that potential competitors in
the provision of health care coverage bear unequal burdens in entering the
market for health care coverage.
(2)
The legislature therefore intends to exempt from state anti-trust laws, and to
provide immunity from federal anti-trust laws through the state action doctrine
for activities approved under this chapter that might otherwise be constrained
by such laws and intends to displace competition in the health care market: To
contain the aggregate cost of health care services; to promote the development
of comprehensive, integrated, and cost-effective health care delivery systems
through cooperative activities among health care providers and facilities; to
promote comparability of health care coverage; to improve the
cost-effectiveness in providing health care coverage relative to health
promotion, disease prevention, and the amelioration or cure of illness; to
assure universal access to a publicly determined, uniform package of health
care benefits; and to create reasonable equity in the distribution of funds,
treatment, and medical risk among purchasers of health care coverage, payers of
health care services, providers of health care services, health care
facilities, and Washington residents. To these ends, any lawful action taken
pursuant to chapter 492, Laws of 1993 by any person or entity created or
regulated by chapter 492, Laws of 1993 are declared to be taken pursuant to
state statute and in furtherance of the public purposes of the state of
Washington.
(3)
The legislature does not intend and unless explicitly permitted in accordance
with RCW 43.72.310 or under rules adopted pursuant to chapter 492, Laws of
1993, does not authorize any person or entity to engage in activities or to
conspire to engage in activities that would constitute per se violations of
state and federal anti-trust laws including but not limited to conspiracies or
agreements:
(a)
Among competing health care providers not to grant discounts, not to provide
services, or to fix the price of their services;
(b)
Among ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers as to the
price or level of reimbursement for health care services;
(c)
Among ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers to boycott a
group or class of health care service providers;
(d)
Among purchasers of ((certified)) health plan coverage to boycott a
particular plan or class of plans;
(e)
Among ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers to divide
the market for health care coverage; or
(f)
Among ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers and
purchasers to attract or discourage enrollment of any Washington resident or
groups of residents in a ((certified)) health plan based upon the
perceived or actual risk of loss in including such resident or group of
residents in a ((certified)) health plan or purchasing group.
Sec.
7. RCW
43.72.310 and 1995 c 267 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
((Until May 8, 1995, and after June 30, 1996, a certified)) A
health ((plan)) carrier, health care facility, health care
provider, or other person involved in the development, delivery, or marketing
of health care or ((certified)) health plans may request, in writing,
that the ((commission)) department of health obtain an informal
opinion from the attorney general as to whether particular conduct is
authorized by chapter 492, Laws of 1993. Trade secret or proprietary
information contained in a request for informal opinion shall be identified as
such and shall not be disclosed other than to an authorized employee of the ((commission))
department of health or attorney general without the consent of the
party making the request, except that information in summary or aggregate form
and market share data may be contained in the informal opinion issued by the
attorney general. The attorney general shall issue such opinion within thirty
days of receipt of a written request for an opinion or within thirty days of
receipt of any additional information requested by the attorney general
necessary for rendering an opinion unless extended by the attorney general for
good cause shown. If the attorney general concludes that such conduct is not
authorized by chapter 492, Laws of 1993, the person or organization making the
request may petition the ((commission)) department of health for
review and approval of such conduct in accordance with subsection (3) of this
section.
(2)
After obtaining the written opinion of the attorney general and consistent with
such opinion, the ((health services commission)) department of health:
(a)
May authorize conduct by a ((certified)) health ((plan)) carrier,
health care facility, health care provider, or any other person that could tend
to lessen competition in the relevant market upon a strong showing that the
conduct is likely to achieve the policy goals of chapter 492, Laws of 1993 and
a more competitive alternative is impractical;
(b)
Shall adopt rules governing conduct among providers, health care facilities,
and ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers including
rules governing provider and facility contracts with ((certified))
health ((plans)) carriers, rules governing the use of "most
favored nation" clauses and exclusive dealing clauses in such contracts,
and rules providing that ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers
in rural areas contract with a sufficient number and type of health care
providers and facilities to ensure consumer access to local health care
services;
(c)
Shall adopt rules permitting health care providers within the service area of a
plan to collectively negotiate the terms and conditions of contracts with a ((certified))
health ((plan)) carrier including the ability of providers to
meet and communicate for the purposes of these negotiations; ((and))
(d)
Shall adopt rules governing cooperative activities among health care facilities
and providers; and
(e)
Effective July 1, 1997, in addition to the rule-making authority granted to the
department under this section, the department shall have the authority to
enforce and administer rules previously adopted by the health services
commission and the health care policy board pursuant to RCW 43.72.310.
(3)
((Until May 8, 1995, and after June 30, 1996, a certified)) A
health ((plan)) carrier, health care facility, health care provider,
or any other person involved in the development, delivery, and marketing of
health care services or ((certified)) health plans may file a
written petition with the ((commission)) department of health
requesting approval of conduct that could tend to lessen competition in the
relevant market. Such petition shall be filed in a form and manner prescribed
by rule of the ((commission)) department of health.
The
((commission)) department of health shall issue a written
decision approving or denying a petition filed under this section within ninety
days of receipt of a properly completed written petition unless extended by the
((commission)) department of health for good cause shown. The
decision shall set forth findings as to benefits and disadvantages and
conclusions as to whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
(4)
In authorizing conduct and adopting rules of conduct under this section, the ((commission))
department of health with the advice of the attorney general, shall
consider the benefits of such conduct in furthering the goals of health care
reform including but not limited to:
(a)
Enhancement of the quality of health services to consumers;
(b)
Gains in cost efficiency of health services;
(c)
Improvements in utilization of health services and equipment;
(d)
Avoidance of duplication of health services resources; or
(e)
And as to (b) and (c) of this subsection: (i) Facilitates the exchange of
information relating to performance expectations; (ii) simplifies the
negotiation of delivery arrangements and relationships; and (iii) reduces the
transactions costs on the part of ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers
and providers in negotiating more cost-effective delivery arrangements.
These
benefits must outweigh disadvantages including and not limited to:
(i)
Reduced competition among ((certified)) health ((plans)) carriers,
health care providers, or health care facilities;
(ii)
Adverse impact on quality, availability, or price of health care services to
consumers; or
(iii)
The availability of arrangements less restrictive to competition that achieve
the same benefits.
(5)
Conduct authorized by the ((commission)) department of health
shall be deemed taken pursuant to state statute and in the furtherance of the
public purposes of the state of Washington.
(6)
With the assistance of the attorney general's office, the ((commission))
department of health shall actively supervise any conduct authorized
under this section to determine whether such conduct or rules permitting
certain conduct should be continued and whether a more competitive alternative
is practical. The ((commission)) department of health shall
periodically review petitioned conduct through, at least, annual progress reports
from petitioners, annual or more frequent reviews by the ((commission)) department
of health that evaluate whether the conduct is consistent with the
petition, and whether the benefits continue to outweigh any disadvantages. If
the ((commission)) department of health determines that the
likely benefits of any conduct approved through rule, petition, or otherwise by
the ((commission)) department of health no longer outweigh the
disadvantages attributable to potential reduction in competition, the ((commission))
department of health shall order a modification or discontinuance of
such conduct. Conduct ordered discontinued by the ((commission)) department
of health shall no longer be deemed to be taken pursuant to state statute
and in the furtherance of the public purposes of the state of Washington.
(7)
Nothing contained in chapter 492, Laws of 1993 is intended to in any way limit
the ability of rural hospital districts to enter into cooperative agreements
and contracts pursuant to RCW 70.44.450 and chapter 39.34 RCW.
(8)
((Only requests for informal opinions under subsection (1) of this section
and petitions under subsection (3) of this section that were received prior to
May 8, 1995, or after June 30, 1996, shall be considered.)) The
secretary of health shall from time to time establish fees to accompany the
filing of a petition or a written request to the department to obtain an
opinion from the attorney general under this section and for the active
supervision of conduct approved under this section. Such fees may vary
according to the size of the transaction proposed in the petition or under
active supervision. In setting such fees, the secretary shall consider that
consumers and the public benefit when activities meeting the standards of this
section are permitted to proceed; the importance of assuring that persons
sponsoring beneficial activities are not foreclosed from filing a petition
under this section because of the fee; and the necessity to avoid a conflict,
or the appearance of a conflict, between the interests of the department and
the public. The total fee for a petition under this section, a written request
to the department to obtain an opinion from the attorney general, or a
combination of both regarding the same conduct shall not exceed the level that
will defray the reasonable costs the department and attorney general incur in
considering a petition and in no event shall be greater than twenty-five
thousand dollars. The fee for review of approved conduct shall not exceed the
level that will defray the reasonable costs the department and attorney general
incur in conducting such a review and in no event shall be greater than ten
thousand dollars per annum. The fees shall be fixed by rule adopted in
accordance with the provisions of the administrative procedure act, chapter
34.05 RCW, and shall be deposited in the health professions account established
in accordance with RCW 43.70.320.
Sec.
8. RCW
42.17.310 and 1996 c 305 s 2, 1996 c 253 s 302, 1996 c 191 s 88, and 1996 c 80
s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1)
The following are exempt from public inspection and copying:
(a)
Personal information in any files maintained for students in public schools,
patients or clients of public institutions or public health agencies, or
welfare recipients.
(b)
Personal information in files maintained for employees, appointees, or elected
officials of any public agency to the extent that disclosure would violate
their right to privacy.
(c)
Information required of any taxpayer in connection with the assessment or
collection of any tax if the disclosure of the information to other persons
would (i) be prohibited to such persons by RCW 82.32.330 or (ii) violate the
taxpayer's right to privacy or result in unfair competitive disadvantage to the
taxpayer.
(d)
Specific intelligence information and specific investigative records compiled
by investigative, law enforcement, and penology agencies, and state agencies
vested with the responsibility to discipline members of any profession, the
nondisclosure of which is essential to effective law enforcement or for the
protection of any person's right to privacy.
(e)
Information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims
of crime or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or
penology agencies, other than the public disclosure commission, if disclosure
would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time
a complaint is filed the complainant, victim or witness indicates a desire for
disclosure or nondisclosure, such desire shall govern. However, all complaints
filed with the public disclosure commission about any elected official or candidate
for public office must be made in writing and signed by the complainant under
oath.
(f)
Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a
license, employment, or academic examination.
(g)
Except as provided by chapter 8.26 RCW, the contents of real estate appraisals,
made for or by any agency relative to the acquisition or sale of property,
until the project or prospective sale is abandoned or until such time as all of
the property has been acquired or the property to which the sale appraisal
relates is sold, but in no event shall disclosure be denied for more than three
years after the appraisal.
(h)
Valuable formulae, designs, drawings, and research data obtained by any agency
within five years of the request for disclosure when disclosure would produce
private gain and public loss.
(i)
Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, and intra-agency memorandums in
which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended except that
a specific record shall not be exempt when publicly cited by an agency in
connection with any agency action.
(j)
Records which are relevant to a controversy to which an agency is a party but
which records would not be available to another party under the rules of
pretrial discovery for causes pending in the superior courts.
(k)
Records, maps, or other information identifying the location of archaeological
sites in order to avoid the looting or depredation of such sites.
(l)
Any library record, the primary purpose of which is to maintain control of
library materials, or to gain access to information, which discloses or could
be used to disclose the identity of a library user.
(m)
Financial information supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, or
corporation for the purpose of qualifying to submit a bid or proposal for (i) a
ferry system construction or repair contract as required by RCW 47.60.680
through 47.60.750 or (ii) highway construction or improvement as required by
RCW 47.28.070.
(n)
Railroad company contracts filed prior to July 28, 1991, with the utilities and
transportation commission under RCW 81.34.070, except that the summaries of the
contracts are open to public inspection and copying as otherwise provided by
this chapter.
(o)
Financial and commercial information and records supplied by private persons
pertaining to export services provided pursuant to chapter 43.163 RCW and
chapter 53.31 RCW, and by persons pertaining to export projects pursuant to RCW
43.23.035.
(p)
Financial disclosures filed by private vocational schools under chapters 28B.85
and 28C.10 RCW.
(q)
Records filed with the utilities and transportation commission or attorney
general under RCW 80.04.095 that a court has determined are confidential under
RCW 80.04.095.
(r)
Financial and commercial information and records supplied by businesses or
individuals during application for loans or program services provided by
chapters 43.163, 43.160, 43.330, and 43.168 RCW, or during application for
economic development loans or program services provided by any local agency.
(s)
Membership lists or lists of members or owners of interests of units in
timeshare projects, subdivisions, camping resorts, condominiums, land
developments, or common-interest communities affiliated with such projects,
regulated by the department of licensing, in the files or possession of the
department.
(t)
All applications for public employment, including the names of applicants,
resumes, and other related materials submitted with respect to an applicant.
(u)
The residential addresses and residential telephone numbers of employees or
volunteers of a public agency which are held by the agency in personnel
records, employment or volunteer rosters, or mailing lists of employees or
volunteers.
(v)
The residential addresses and residential telephone numbers of the customers of
a public utility contained in the records or lists held by the public utility
of which they are customers.
(w)(i)
The federal social security number of individuals governed under chapter 18.130
RCW maintained in the files of the department of health, except this exemption
does not apply to requests made directly to the department from federal, state,
and local agencies of government, and national and state licensing,
credentialing, investigatory, disciplinary, and examination organizations; (ii)
the current residential address and current residential telephone number of a
health care provider governed under chapter 18.130 RCW maintained in the files
of the department, if the provider requests that this information be withheld
from public inspection and copying, and provides to the department an accurate
alternate or business address and business telephone number. On or after
January 1, 1995, the current residential address and residential telephone
number of a health care provider governed under RCW 18.130.140 maintained in
the files of the department shall automatically be withheld from public
inspection and copying unless the provider specifically requests the
information be released, and except as provided for under RCW 42.17.260(9).
(x)
Information obtained by the board of pharmacy as provided in RCW 69.45.090.
(y)
Information obtained by the board of pharmacy or the department of health and
its representatives as provided in RCW 69.41.044, 69.41.280, and 18.64.420.
(z)
Financial information, business plans, examination reports, and any information
produced or obtained in evaluating or examining a business and industrial
development corporation organized or seeking certification under chapter 31.24
RCW.
(aa)
Financial and commercial information supplied to the state investment board by
any person when the information relates to the investment of public trust or
retirement funds and when disclosure would result in loss to such funds or in
private loss to the providers of this information.
(bb)
Financial and valuable trade information under RCW 51.36.120.
(cc)
Client records maintained by an agency that is a domestic violence program as
defined in RCW 70.123.020 or 70.123.075 or a rape crisis center as defined in
RCW 70.125.030.
(dd)
Information that identifies a person who, while an agency employee: (i) Seeks
advice, under an informal process established by the employing agency, in order
to ascertain his or her rights in connection with a possible unfair practice under
chapter 49.60 RCW against the person; and (ii) requests his or her identity or
any identifying information not be disclosed.
(ee)
Investigative records compiled by an employing agency conducting a current
investigation of a possible unfair practice under chapter 49.60 RCW or of a
possible violation of other federal, state, or local laws prohibiting
discrimination in employment.
(ff)
Business related information protected from public inspection and copying under
RCW 15.86.110.
(gg)
Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and
data submitted to or obtained by the clean Washington center in applications
for, or delivery of, program services under chapter 70.95H RCW.
(hh)
Information and documents created specifically for, and collected and
maintained by a quality improvement committee pursuant to RCW 43.70.510,
regardless of which agency is in possession of the information and documents.
(ii)
Personal information in files maintained in a data base created under RCW 43.07.360.
(jj)
Proprietary financial and commercial information that the submitting entity,
with review by the department of health, specifically identifies at the time it
is submitted and that is provided to or obtained by the department of health in
connection with an application for, or the supervision of, an antitrust
exemption sought by the submitting entity under RCW 43.72.310. If a request
for such information is received, the submitting entity must be notified of the
request. Within ten business days of receipt of the notice, the submitting
entity shall provide a written statement of the continuing need for
confidentiality, which shall be provided to the requester. Upon receipt of
such notice, the department of health shall continue to treat information
designated under this section as exempt from disclosure. If the requester
initiates an action to compel disclosure under this chapter, the submitting
entity must be joined as a party to demonstrate the continuing need for
confidentiality.
(2)
Except for information described in subsection (1)(c)(i) of this section and
confidential income data exempted from public inspection pursuant to RCW
84.40.020, the exemptions of this section are inapplicable to the extent that
information, the disclosure of which would violate personal privacy or vital
governmental interests, can be deleted from the specific records sought. No
exemption may be construed to permit the nondisclosure of statistical
information not descriptive of any readily identifiable person or persons.
(3)
Inspection or copying of any specific records exempt under the provisions of
this section may be permitted if the superior court in the county in which the
record is maintained finds, after a hearing with notice thereof to every person
in interest and the agency, that the exemption of such records is clearly
unnecessary to protect any individual's right of privacy or any vital
governmental function.
(4)
Agency responses refusing, in whole or in part, inspection of any public record
shall include a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding
of the record (or part) and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to
the record withheld.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 9. The
following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
(1) RCW
43.72.320 and 1995 c 267 s 10;
(2) RCW
43.73.010 and 1995 c 265 s 9;
(3) RCW
43.73.020 and 1995 c 265 s 10;
(4) RCW
43.73.030 and 1995 c 265 s 11;
(5) RCW
43.73.040 and 1995 c 265 s 12; and
(6) 1996 c 281
s 2 (uncodified).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. 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 takes effect July 1, 1997.
