April 19, 2016
On April 13, 2016, the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner released an update on how insurance related legislation fared during the 2016 legislative session. While HB 2447, which would have ended emergency department surprise billing, did not pass, the Commissioner indicated in the update that it will remain a priority for the Commissioner.
In other legislation related to employer-group sponsored group health plans, HB 2326 moved the oversight of health care Independent Review Organizations (IROs) from the Department of Health to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC). Under this bill, the OIC is responsible for certifying all IROs and IROs must file their case reports directly with the OIC versus sending them to the insurers to file on their behalf. The legislation was signed by Gov. Inslee on March 31, 2016 and is known as Chapter 139 of the Laws of 2016. Chapter 139 is effective June 9, 2016.
2016 Legislation Overview » Chapter 139 »