Washington — Essential Health Benefit (EHB) public meeting series: The 2023 Legislature enacted SSB 5338, which directs the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to review Washington state’s current Essential Health Benefits (EHB) benchmark plan to determine whether to request approval from the federal government under 45 CFR §156.111 to update the plan.
OIC will be hosting the first in a series of meetings on this project on June 12, 2023, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be hybrid, with the option to attend in person at 5000 Capitol Blvd SE, Conference Room 120, Tumwater WA 98501 or virtually. To attend the meeting virtually, please register via Zoom.
We look forward to the opportunity to share information about the project and receive comments from interested persons and organizations. Written comments or questions related to the project can be submitted to policy@oic.wa.gov.
Washington — Kreidler directs Regence to correct medical billing error: Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has directed Cambia Health Solutions, Inc., and its subsidiaries — including Regence BlueShield — to reprocess ground ambulance claims from approximately 670 policyholders who were balance billed by ambulance companies.
“Unfortunately, the insurer’s approach to this issue was not consistent with the law or the documents they have filed with our office. More importantly, it left consumers unfairly caught between the insurer and the providers,” Kreidler said. He added that his office is in discussions with Cambia on how to best resolve the issue and make the impacted consumers whole.
