Concerning patient advocates.

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Substitute Bill — · 452 words Open full page ↗

S-4526.2

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5823

State of Washington

69th Legislature

2026 Regular Session

By Senate Health & Long-Term Care (originally sponsored by Senators Cortes, Hasegawa, and Valdez)

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/26.

AN ACT Relating to patient advocates; and adding a new section to chapter 70.41 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 70.41 RCW to read as follows:

(1) On or before January 1, 2027, hospitals licensed under this chapter must have at least one person who is physically present every day in the acute care setting who may assist patients to navigate the health care system on behalf of the patient. Patient advocacy services and duties outlined in subsection (4) of this section may be provided by more than one person.

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PASSAGE PROBABILITY

19.2% Unlikely

Why this number

Stage base Reported from Committee — base rate 42%, measured from WA's completed sessions
Momentum -1 46/100 from the pace of recorded action
Time since last action -22 249 days quiet

A transparent scoring model over stage, momentum, recency, sponsorship and recorded votes — not a trained predictor. Treat it as a way to rank attention, not as a forecast.