This bill would add one or more new sections to chapter 48.43 RCW to require that, for health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, provider contracts between a health carrier and a health care provider who is not employed by a hospital or any hospital affiliate include an annual compensation increase from the prior year that reflects increases in the consumer price index for all urban consumers. It is a new statutory contractual requirement and also directs the insurance commissioner to adopt implementing rules; those rules must reflect the standards used to determine inflationary increases in the qualifying payment amount under the federal No Surprises Act (42 U.S.C. §300gg-111). The bill also states that providers are not required to accept or reject a contract or amendment containing the required increase and that contracts may not directly or indirectly waive the statutory requirement. Health carriers may not discriminate against any category of provider (including excluding or limiting services) to avoid the compensation provisions. The compensation requirement does not apply to dental-only plans that rely solely on employees of the health carrier to provide benefits. The bill defines “affiliate of a hospital” and expands the definition of “health benefit plan” to explicitly include certain vision-only coverage offered by health care service contractors and disability insurers. The extracted text omits several details: it does not show the exact new section number(s) or insertion point in chapter 48.43 RCW; it does not include the full existing definition of “health benefit plan” in RCW 48.43.005; it does not specify CPI series details beyond saying “consumer price index for all urban consumers,” does not define “prior year” for the increase calculation, does not set a deadline for the insurance commissioner’s rulemaking, and does not specify enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or remedies for noncompliance.

If enacted, starting with health plans issued or renewed on January 1, 2026, most providers who are not employed by a hospital or hospital affiliate would see their contracts include an automatic annual pay increase tied to the consumer price index for all urban consumers, creating a predictable inflation adjustment in contract payments. Health insurers cannot avoid the requirement by excluding or limiting provider categories and cannot contractually waive it, while dental-only plans that use only the insurer’s employees are excluded. The main impacts are that independent providers are likely to get more consistent year‑to‑year pay increases, and health carriers will face higher and recurring contract costs plus the administrative work of following new rules the insurance commissioner must adopt (rules will mirror standards from the federal No Surprises Act). These carrier costs could translate into higher premiums, changes to benefits, or network adjustments, though the bill leaves open key details—such as the exact CPI series to use, how “prior year” is calculated, the timing of rulemaking, and enforcement—so some practical outcomes could vary.