We were directed by the legislature to work with the Department of Health and the Health Care Authority to study how to prevent balance billing from ground ambulance services and to recommend whether or not these services should be subject to Washington's Balance Billing Protection Act. Our advisory group on this issue sent its recommendations to the legislature in October 2023. Legislation banning ground ambulance balance billing was enacted in 2024.
During the 2024 Legislative Session, the Washington legislature enacted SSB 5986- Protecting consumers from out-of-network health care services charges. This bill goes into effect on January 1, 2025, and bans balance billing for covered emergency and non-emergency ground ambulance transportation. This bill was based on recommendations of the Ground Ambulance Advisory Group commissioned by the legislature in 2022 to assess if ground ambulance balance billing protections should be included in the Balance Billing Protection Act (BBPA). The advisory group report and meeting materials are available below. If you have questions about balance billing protections, please contact the Office of the Insurance Commissioner at 800-562-6900 or our online portal.
Advisory group and report
| Organization | Submitted by |
|---|---|
| Christine Dolly | |
| Candice Bock | |
| Pat Songer | |
| Catie Holstein | |
| Andrea Philhower | |
| Rhonda Holden | |
| Emily Brice | |
| Shawn Baird | |
| Alex Hamasaki | |
| Samuel Wilcoxson | |
| Aya Samman |