The Washington State Department of Enterprise Services will be proposing changes to update and clarify rules for local government self-insurance health and welfare programs, and is encouraging anyone interested in helping to develop draft rules to attend two upcoming workshops.

Rulemaking is needed to:

• Reflect changes in the healthcare regulatory environment put in place over time,
• The 2011 transition of Risk Management from the Office of Financial Management to Enterprise Services
• Clarify financial solvency standards and reporting requirements. Clearer rules can make it easier for local government-operated health care programs to understand the reporting process and comply with required due dates.

We anticipate the new proposed rules will largely reflect the current rule, and any other changes will be mainly clarification and “clean-up” to match state law. Solvency regulations and reserve requirements will stay the same as in the existing rule, and the rulemaking will not change fee structures or rates.

Work sessions

Enterprise Services will hold two work sessions, and invites anyone interested in participating in developing draft rules to join. One will be held in Eastern Washington and one will be held in Western Washington.

Since rule draftingwork will build on progress based on the discussions at each subsequent workshop, participants are highly encouraged to attend both sessions.

Work session times and locations are:

May 16 - Olympia

• 2 to 5 p.m.
• 1500 Jefferson Street, Room 2208
• Olympia, WA 98504

May 18 - Spokane

• 9 a.m. to noon
• Student Union Building, VIP Conference Room
• Spokane Falls Community College
• 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr.
• Spokane, WA 99224-5288

Rulemaking Approach

Enterprise Services will hold work sessions with interested stakeholders. During these work sessions, Enterprise Services and stakeholders will collaborate and jointly develop rules. As a starting point, Enterprise Services has developed a preliminary draft rules document for discussion purposes, which we expect will be modified during our conversations.

The outcome of the work sessions will be proposed rules that are submitted to the Office of the Code Reviser. There will be a formal public comment period on the proposed rules, once submitted.

Shortly after the second work session, Enterprise Services will share a copy of the draft rules before filing the proposed rules with the Office of the Code Reviser. The rules filed with the Code Reviser will be published in the next Washington State Register.

Rulemaking steps

CR 101: Enterprise Serviceshas filed a notice with the state Office of the Code Reviser that the agency intends to engage in this rulemaking effort. This first step, the CR -101: Preproposal Statement of Inquiry must be taken before stakeholders can be invited to participate in the agency’s rulemaking process.

CR-102: Proposed Rule Making marks the formal beginning of rulemaking. Once the CR-102 is filed, DES will hold a formal public comment period, including a public hearing, for the proposed rule.

More information

More information is available on the Enterprise Services rulemaking web page.

If you have questions specific to existing self-insurance rules, please contact Shannon Stuber, (360) 407-8153.

If you have questions about the rulemaking process, please contact Jack Zeigler, (360) 407-9209.

Please direct media inquiries to Linda Kent, (360) 972-6413.

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