A priority bill for Healthcare & Wellness Committee Chair Rep. Dan Bronoske (D-Lakewood) heads to the Governor’s desk as HB 1686 passed the Senate today. HB 1686 lays the groundwork for the creation of the Washington Healthcare Entity Registry, a comprehensive database tracking vertical and horizontal integration and ownership changes in the healthcare industry.
“From day one I said I was focused on increasing transparency and lowering costs,” said Rep. Bronoske. “This legislation is the bedrock of those goals.”
The bill requires the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the Health Care Authority (HCA), the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), the Office of Financial Management (OFM), the Governor’s Office and other stakeholders to develop a plan to bring the Washington Healthcare Entity Registry to reality.
The plan must identify health care entities, including licensed and unlicensed healthcare facilities, providers, provider groups, systems, health carriers and health care benefit managers. Also required by the plan are developing a list of what each entity must report and the fee to be charged by reporting entities.
While developing the plan, DOH must consider ways to streamline reporting and easing information sharing amongst state agencies. Additionally, DOH must consider strategies to best monitor changes in ownership, control, contractual relationships, or affiliations between healthcare entities and other business entities like private equity.
DOH must provide a progress update to the relevant health and fiscal committees in the Legislature by December 31, 2027, and a final report by November 1, 2028.
“This is a big first step in the development a statewide health resources strategy including an inventory of each geographic region’s existing health care facilities and services; said Bronoske. “I look forward to continuing this work in the years to come.”
As one of the incumbent Dems responsible for the dramatic increase in spending and the current state budget deficit which will undoubtedly result in an increase in taxes, Mr. Bronoske needs to provide a cost/benefit analysis on this new extension of the bureaucracy.
If, as in California which is running a huge deficit, we (Washington State) are footing the medical bills for illegal aliens, it’s little wonder we are running a 12 billion dollar deficit. I also have read that State Retirement monies are being re-directed to help cover the deficit.
How about talking to SPENDING REFORM in this state, rather than finding more ways to continue taxing us to death?