Tag: Washington State

OLYMPIA, Wash. – After a small hiccup, a bill that exempts “mobility enhancing equipment for a complex needs patient” from the state sales tax passed the state legislature in April and was signed by the governor in May.  S.B. 5218, sponsored by Sens. Mike Padden, R-4th district, Mark Mullet, D-5th district, and Nikki Torres, R-15th district, was passed unanimously in the state Senate and House.  “Our lobbyist Abby Moore reports that there was a lot of support...

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Senate has passed S.B. 5218, a bill to create a sales and use tax exemption for complex rehab technology, 96-0. The bill previously passed the Washington State House 48-0. HME providers and advocates testified in favor of the bill at a Feb. 7 Senate Ways & Means Committee hearing. Pacific Association of Medical Equipment Services (PAMES) Executive Director Barb Stockert, who coordinated the multi-holder advocacy effort, also credited the leadership efforts...

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Only physicians can now order medical equipment for Medicaid recipients, says the Health Care Authority in Washington state. Advanced nurse practitioners (ARNPs) or physician assistants (PAs) ordering medical equipment must have a physician's signature on their requested orders, the Medicaid director says. “I wouldn't say the majority of the prescriptions we receive are from ARNPs or NPs, but there are certain clinics where they are the primary practitioners,”...

I followed CELA's New York team around Capitol Hill last week as they visited more than 25 congressional offices. I think I hit about 8-10 of those as I followed different people around during the day. One of the New York advocates was Paul Tobin, a consumer and the president and CEO of United Spinal. (He'll be back on the Hill in June for his organization's Roll on Capitol Hill, promoting HR 4378 again and other bills that would help United Spinal members.) Tobin is living proof...