This bill amends existing workers’ compensation law and creates a time-limited pilot program to expand access to evidence-based care for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an occupational disease. It changes multiple RCW sections (including amendments to RCW 49.17.243 and RCW 51.36.010, an amendment to RCW 51.36.060, and a new section in chapter 51.36 RCW) to authorize grants from the medical aid fund for workplace safety and behavioral health projects, to establish minimum standards and a formal provider network, and to add a pilot program for pre-adjudication PTSD treatment and related agreements with qualified providers. The statutory changes are largely procedural and programmatic: the Department of Labor & Industries must set minimum provider standards, convene an advisory group, adopt credentialing and oversight policies, create a second tier of providers and certify centers for occupational health and education, and implement utilization review for self-insured employers. Network provider applications have the force of a contract with automatic renewals unless notice is given. Once a local network is in place, care from nonnetwork providers is generally limited to an initial office or emergency visit. For state fund claims the department will pay for initial prescription drugs associated with an initial visit regardless of claim allowance. The bill also sets limits on treatment duration for accepted claims with a written preauthorization process by the supervisor of industrial insurance for continued care, and it authorizes the department to adopt implementing rules. The pilot program for PTSD allows a worker who files a PTSD occupational disease claim under RCW 51.08.142(2) or (3) to opt in to receive pre-adjudication diagnostic evaluation and up to 11 treatment sessions within 90 days; the supervisor may authorize up to 12 additional sessions if the claim is not adjudicated within 90 days. If a claim is later allowed, treatment must come from the medical provider network. Participating self-insurers must pay pre-adjudication treatment costs for self-insured claims that are ultimately rejected, and state fund costs for rejected claims are to be spread across relevant risk classes. The department may enter agreements with qualified providers, create incentives, reduce pilot administrative requirements, and the pilot may supersede conflicting statutes for its duration. The pilot section expires December 31, 2030; most of the act takes effect July 1, 2026, section 2 expires June 30, 2027, and section 3 takes effect June 30, 2027. Some referenced provisions and cross-references (including full text of section 5 and portions of amended subsections) are incomplete in the provided extracts.

If enacted, the bill creates a new framework at the Department of Labor & Industries to fund workplace safety projects (including behavioral health and return-to-work programs), build and oversee a credentialed provider network with a "second tier" of high-performing occupational providers, expand and certify centers for occupational health, and run a time-limited pilot to expand access to PTSD care for workers in high-risk jobs. Practically this means workers filing PTSD claims can get early mental health evaluation and up to 11 treatment sessions within 90 days of filing (with up to 12 more if a claim isn’t decided), and participating programs can authorize additional follow-up sessions after claim closure; once a claim is allowed, treatment must come from the medical provider network. The department must pay for initial prescription drugs tied to an initial visit on state fund claims even if the claim isn’t allowed, and the state fund will absorb and spread costs from rejected state fund PTSD claims across relevant risk classes, while self-insured employers must pay pre-adjudication treatment costs for their rejected claims. Those most affected are the Department of Labor & Industries (new rulemaking, grant-making, certification, reporting, and payment duties), health care providers (new credentialing/contracts, oversight, possible removal, and incentives), injured workers (earlier access to PTSD care but narrower provider choice once networks exist), and self-insured employers (new payment and reporting obligations if they participate). Expected practical changes include added departmental administrative and program costs, potential new grant funding to outside organizations, providers needing to meet network requirements and accept fee schedules or nonnetwork agreements for pre-adjudication PTSD care, and self-insurers facing direct pre-adjudication cost risk for rejected claims. Important implementation details are missing or cross-referenced elsewhere (notably the text of section 5, some timing and controlled-substance exceptions, and full pilot parameters), so how some limits, eligibility rules, and administrative processes will work in practice remains uncertain.