Megan Burbank
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling was overturned last spring, Law vs Wade Leaked Washington lawmakers gathered in Seattle’s Kerry Park to promise a future of legal remedies to ensure continued abortion access in the state. and several provisions with new protections for patients were introduced.
Courtney Normand, Washington state director of the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said of the new policy:Not all of the bills introduced in this session have been enacted deadline To be voted from the home they came from. Still, tracking her bill, Normand said she felt. Do something to help those who can go to Washington.
Below are reproductive health policy bills that may still move forward this year, as well as bills that have expired.
no policy
New rules on hospital mergers
Keep Our Care Act (HB1263, SB5241) was also introduced last year to merge health care entities to ensure continuity of care in a process known to erode access to services such as reproductive health care, gender-affirming care and medical assistance. would have imposed new reporting requirements when Dead. The Senate version of the bill passed the Senate Law, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees, but progress stalled there. Despite efforts to address the concerns of smaller independent providers through an amendment process, Normand said this year’s bill has expired. “There is still a lot of interest in addressing this problem of large healthcare mergers and failure to maintain adequate standards of access to healthcare and certain services, let alone affordable services. It’s been sent,” she said. “So we will be back to work on the issue again and see if we can pass legislation that will help give these groups the oversight they need.”
Policy with cutoff
No cost of abortion
Abortions can be expensive, even if they are covered by private insurance. This is because even with insurance coverage, patient liability in the form of copayments or co-insurance can be high. This is an abortion surgery problem that can be so costly and complicated that patients have to wait. “This is a time-sensitive medical service, and you often have to make a lot of arrangements already, so if you’re suddenly faced with an unexpected expense on your way to an appointment, it can really cause problems.” Yes, there were many difficulties,” said Normand. A bill to ban the cost-sharing of abortion procedures (SB5242, HB1115) offsets these costs. This policy does not automatically mean that abortion care is free for everyone. Normand said it won’t affect patients on high-deductible plans (“I want to see what we can do for that”), but it will affect patients with private insurance. I have. Plans with lower deductibles should result in full coverage for abortion if the law is enacted. The bill passed the Senate and was heard before the House Health Care and Wellness Committee on March 17.
Data Privacy of Personal Health Information
In March, a Texas man filed a lawsuit against three women for helping his wife get an abortion. What’s the evidence at the heart of the case? A text message sent between his ex-wife and her friend. As more state laws allow lawsuits against those who facilitate abortion care, advocates are increasingly concerned about privacy regarding personal health information not protected under HIPAA. my health, my data law (HB1155, SB5351) seeks to close this loophole by establishing privacy protections for personal health information not already protected by HIPAA. The bill also protects data obtained by emergency pregnancy centers that resemble health care facilities but are not bound by HIPAA and prevents geofencing around abortion clinics. It passed the House and is currently under consideration by the Senate Law and Judiciary Committee.
shield law
Washington law supports abortion rights Law vs Wadein states with abortion-hostile legislatures, those who promote or provide abortion care now face the specter of prosecution.HB1469, SB5489) protects the provider from this type of legal action in Washington. This means that if another state attempts to prosecute the provider, Washington will not cooperate with related investigative efforts. Like abortion, it is banned in states such as Florida, cutting off access for young people. Shield Law will establish both reproductive health care and gender affirmation care as protected health services and give the Attorney General authority to police efforts to investigate and prosecute either. The bill he passed the House on March 4 and was referred to the Senate Law and Judiciary Committee.
Provider license protection
Similar to the Shield Act, the second bill (HB1340, SB5400) protects abortion provider licenses from retaliation from the Medical Licensing Board. This means that legal action from abortion-hostile states is not a barrier to practicing medicine if abortion providers want to provide care in Washington. It passed the House on the 28th and is now on the Rules Committee.
Megan Burbank Seattle-based writer and editor. Before he became a full-time freelancer, he worked as an editor and reporter for the Portland Mercury and The Seattle Times. She specializes in corporate reporting on her policies for reproductive health, as well as articles on gender, political and cultural nexus.
📸 featured image 1 billion photos/Shutterstock.com.
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