Washington Enacts Sweeping Measures Aimed at Protecting Access to Reproductive, Gender-Affirming Health Care
- April 28, 2023
Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) signed into law a series of measures aimed at preserving and expanding access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care, including a new privacy law to safeguard health information collected and maintained by third-party apps.
The first-of-its-kind My Health, My Data Act (HB 1155) is intended to fill the gap in privacy protections for health data collected by entities, including certain apps and websites, that are not required to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The legislative package, which includes five bills, was crafted in response to the Supreme Court’s decision last summer overturning Roe v. Wade.
The measure, among other things, requires additional disclosures and consumer consent for the collection, sharing, and use of health data; empowers consumers to have their health data deleted; prohibits the selling of consumer health data without valid authorization signed by the consumer; and makes it unlawful to utilize a “geofence”—i.e., technology that establishes a virtual boundary around a health care facility in order to locate consumers who use their services.
Most of the measure's provisions are effective beginning March 31, 2024, though small businesses have until June 30, 2024 to comply.
The other bills prohibit cost-sharing for abortion care (SB 5242); protect health care providers that render reproductive or gender affirming care from disciplinary actions or having their Washington licenses revoked if the care is consistent with state law, regardless of where the patient lives (HB 1340); shield those seeking, providing, or helping others obtain reproductive or gender affirming care that is lawfully provided in Washington state, including limiting cooperation with out-of-state investigations or legal proceedings (HB 1469); and look to ensure access to the abortion pill mifepristone (SB 5768) by authorizing the Department of Corrections to distribute the state’s stockpile of the drug to health care providers.