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Bill

SB 5700

Modernizing state health care authority related laws.

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Annette Cleveland and 2 co-sponsors

Modernizes Washington Health Care Authority laws to clarify authority over behavioral health, Medicaid, and health IT, align MAGI eligibility, and streamline administration.

Effective date 7/23/2023.
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 5700

Summary — SB 5700: Modernizing state Health Care Authority–related laws

Status: Enacted (Chapter 51, 2023 Laws). Governor signed 4/6/2023. Effective date: 7/23/2023. (Note: The bill number SB 5700 was later reused in 2025 for an unrelated cannabis database bill; this summary covers the 2023 modernization act.)

Purpose

To modernize, clarify, and streamline statutes that govern the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) by (1) clarifying HCA responsibilities and authorities for behavioral health, Medicaid administration, and health information technology; (2) updating terminology and statutory cross‑references; and (3) removing expired or outdated reporting and program requirements.

Key provisions and changes

  • Behavioral health authority and staffing

    • Explicitly authorizes the HCA Director to appoint staff necessary to carry out the Involuntary Treatment Act, community behavioral health, and children’s behavioral health statutes.
    • Declares HCA the state opioid treatment authority, in addition to its roles as the single state authority for substance use disorder services and the state mental health authority.
    • Requires HCA to contract with and reimburse the Department of Commerce for behavioral health consumer advocacy services for Medicaid managed care enrollees (shifts contracting/reimbursement to HCA rather than direct MCO contracts).

  • Medicaid and eligibility

    • Converts income eligibility standards for certain children’s coverage categories and the Medicaid family planning waiver to the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) methodology consistent with CMS standards.

  • Health information technology

    • Names the Washington State Health Information Technology Office as the HCA office that coordinates development of health care information systems.
    • Adds the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to required cooperating agencies and requires collaboration with the Consolidated Technology Services Agency.
    • Requires HCA to implement and maintain (not just pilot) a consumer‑centric health information infrastructure and state electronic health record repositories to enable secure exchange of health information.

  • Administrative, financial, and programmatic adjustments

    • Applies rules for issuing orders to withhold and deliver property after notice of debt to vendor overpayments as well as client overpayments; specifies overpayments are subject to HCA interest rate provisions.
    • Transfers references and some program administration from the Department of Social and Health Services to HCA (e.g., Medicaid Prescription Drug Assistance Program).
    • Authorizes HCA to adopt rules related to the Health Care Cost Transparency Board.

  • Repeals and program eliminations

    • Repeals a set of obsolete statutory provisions and programs, including (among others) HCA authority to offer a TRICARE supplemental insurance policy and the HCA blindness prevention program.
    • Removes several expired reporting requirements and statutory mandates to use particular reports in agency decision‑making.

  • Terminology and cross‑reference updates

    • Changes “administrator” to “director”; replaces “employees and school employees” with a defined “public employee”; updates “chemical dependency” to “substance use disorder”; standardizes “managed health care system” to “managed care organization”; updates references to regional support networks and other expired statutory citations.

Who is affected

  • Washington State Health Care Authority (primary)
  • Medicaid/Apple Health enrollees, particularly children and family‑planning waiver populations (eligibility rules)
  • Public employees and benefit boards (terminology/definitions)
  • Managed care organizations (contract and terminology updates)
  • Department of Commerce (contracting for consumer advocacy)
  • Department of Children, Youth, and Families and Consolidated Technology Services Agency (coordination on IT)
  • Vendors and recipients subject to overpayment collection processes
  • Health Care Cost Transparency Board (rulemaking framework)

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Bill was passed unanimously in both chambers (Senate 48‑0; House 96‑0), delivered to governor 3/31/2023, signed 4/6/2023, and took effect 7/23/2023.
  • The act amends, reenacts, decodifies, and repeals multiple RCW sections to accomplish the modernization and cleanup.

Expected impact (summary)

The act is primarily administrative and technical: it clarifies HCA roles across behavioral health, Medicaid, and health IT; aligns eligibility methodology with federal MAGI rules; centralizes certain contracting/reimbursement responsibilities; updates terminology and statutory references; and removes obsolete programs and reporting mandates. These changes are intended to improve statutory clarity, align state practice with federal standards, and streamline HCA administration.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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