WSNA members appointed to state healthcare advisory groups

Two WSNA members have been recruited to serve on advisory groups informing the state legislature on crucial issues in healthcare.

WSNA President Justin Gill, DNP, APRN, RN, was recently named to serve on the Health Care Cost Transparency Board’s Advisory Committee on Health Care Stakeholders.

The Health Care Cost Transparency Board (House Bill 2457) was signed into law in 2020, with the purpose of reducing healthcare cost growth and increasing price transparency.

Healthcare spending continues to rise at an alarming rate, outpacing both inflation and wages. This makes healthcare unaffordable for working families across the state and keeps them from getting the care they need. According to KFF Health News polling data four in five adults worry about affording healthcare now or in the future.

High healthcare costs also strain the budgets of businesses and government agencies that are paying for health coverage.

Using objective data, the Health Care Cost Transparency Board can identify the best way to rein in healthcare spending growth. Those conversations will be with stakeholders across the healthcare system continuum.

WSNA member Lyle Dollarhide, BSN, RN, PCCN, a palliative care nurse at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, was recently named to serve on the Palliative Care Benefit Work Group.

The workgroup is convened by the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, in consultation with the Health Care Authority, to design the parameters of a palliative care benefit and payment model for fully insured health plans.

Washington has joined a growing number of states that are undertaking substantive initiatives to increase the accessibility and quality of palliative care for seriously ill patients. According to the National Academy of State Health Policy, 13 states took budgetary and legislative action in 2022 and 2023 that support and expand state palliative care initiatives.

Palliative care is specialized care delivered by a multidisciplinary team for people living with serious illnesses focusing on pain and symptom management as well as improving quality of life for the patient and their family caregivers.

The work group will submit a report to the legislature detailing its work and recommendations by Nov. 1, 2025.