See highlights of the testimony in theWashington State Wire.

Thanks to all the wonderful witnesses who testified on our behalf and to those who submitted messages of support and additional written testimony.

Listen to the full testimony here. SB 5222 is the first reviewed and testimony lasts 35 minutes.

1:20    Senator Emily Randall from the 26th District introduces the bill.

6:13    Gary Franklin provides research and testimony on ARNPs as attending providers for Labor and Industries 

8:27    Louise Kaplan describes the actions of insurers as they reduce the rate of reimbursement

11:00  Senator Karen Keiser asks Louise if ARNPs are predominantly female.

13:51  Jennifer Tyler a clinic administrator discusses the impact of reduced reimbursement to their physician owned clinic

15:40  Psychiatric NP Dana Dean Doering discusses the need to support behavioral health providers across the state and team with physicians keeping the interest of patients foremost

18:20  Maddy Wiley discusses the impact of rate reductions on payer mix and capacity to keep doors open in a small ARNP owned practice

20:00  Jeremiah Burnhardt from the Washington Academy of Family Physicians opposes the bill

22:20 Ashley Fedan, CRNA discusses nurse anesthetists service in rural areas, hospitals and contribution to non-opioid pain management

24:55 Sean Graham from the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) opposes our bill

27:47 Katina Rue (WSMA) opposes stating physicians see more complex patients than ARNPs providing no evidence to support this claim and states physicians carry greater debt

29:50 Senator Steve Conway asks if ARNPs see less complicted patients why does L and I indicate injured workers with complex needs are getting comparable quality of care? Sean Graham from WSMA replies that L and I is different than the rest of health care

31:26 Chris Bandolin from the Association of Washington Health Plans describes how premiums are established and intimates that paying ARNPs what they pay a physician could increase premiums

33:30 Brad Powers from the Association of Naturpathic Physicians says reimbursing differently based on licensure is discriminatory and differentials should be based on outcomes.