The Washington State Massage Therapy Association (WSMTA) strongly supports 2nd Substitute House Bill (2SHB) 1589 and encourages all LMTs to do the same.  This bill gives healthcare providers greater opportunity to review and negotiate their health insurance provider contracts -- as independent providers, massage therapists are currently forced into “take-it-or-leave-it” contracts without negotiation.  To see the details of this bill, click HERE.

For background information on how a bill becomes a law in Washington State, please read this blog, “How Bills Are Processed Through The Legislature”

Thank you to everyone who has made your opinion known on this bill!

WSMTA is thankful for everyone who has followed up on a call-to-action to make your opinion known on what was originally HB 1589, but is now known as 2^nd Substitute House Bill 1589 or 2SHB 1589.  Your actions are very important and have helped to move this bill forward.

Update on 2SHB 1589

Substitute House Bill 1589 had been moved to the House Appropriations Committee for a public hearing on 2/25/25 and was voted out as “due pass” in its 2/27/25 Appropriations Committee Executive Meeting.  At each step of the way, this bill has received strong support. It was passed out of the Appropriations Committee as 2SHB 1589 with 27 Ayes and 4 Nays which means that it had strong support across party lines.

Next steps for 2SHB 1589

2SHB 1589 will now go through a House Rules Review.  During this process the House Rules committee decides which bills to present to the house floor for a vote.  But before movement can occur it first needs to be “read in”. This bill has until March 12th to make it through the House.  If it doesn’t get passed from the House to the Senate by then it will die.

What can you do to help this process, right now?

The coalition is lobbying to move this bill along; however, we need the help of all LMTs to get this bill through the House floor.  To do this we ask that you contact your House Representatives and tell them about the need for contract fairness in order for individual providers to be able to negotiate with insurance carriers in a fair and meaningful way.

There are two ways you can do this.

• If you already have a personal relationship with your House Representatives, set up a meeting and meet with them by phone, zoom or in person.
• If you don’t know your House Representatives, find your House Representatives (not your Senate Representative) by clicking on the link: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1589 and type in your home address. 
• • WSMTA would ask that you click on the button for “support” after you fill in your contact information. 
  • You can indicate if you would like contact back from your House Representatives.
  • You can tell your House Representatives why this bill is important to you if you currently are an insurance provider.  Or, if you have dropped, or are considering dropping being an insurance provider, let them know about any reasons for this related to contract fairness.  If you are not an insurance provider, state how it impacts your profession and your clients/patients by not having the ability to negotiate a fair contract and by not having enough massage therapy insurance providers. 
  • You can also ask to talk to your House Representatives, just state this in the comment section.

Level of urgency:

Please reach out to your House Representatives as soon as you read this article, time is very urgent as the deadlines to move things along in the legislature are constantly approaching.

What else can you do?

Reach out to your colleagues, regardless of profession, and let them know of the urgency of getting this bill passed. The number of voices that legislators hear from is very important.

What are the talking points for 2SHB 1589 -- concerning the relationships between health carriers and contracting providers? (referred to as “Contract Fairness”)

2SHB 1589 preserves clients’ access to care by requiring insurance companies to engage in good faith negotiations with independent health care providers. “Good faith” means the insurer must:

2SHB 1589 also prohibits:

There is a coalition of 20 healthcare professions including massage therapy, chiropractic, physical therapy, speech therapy and more who have been advocating for this bill.  Now we need every LMT to support this bill

Please support 2SHB 1589 to protect client access to necessary and cost-effective Massage Therapy care!  Thank you.

The WSMTA Government Relations team Is dedicated to updating and keeping you informed on issues related to legislation and regulation that impact Washington massage therapists. WSMTA advocates for massage therapy to be a recognized and respected healthcare profession.  We work to protect LMTs' rights, promote fair laws and regulations, and ensure the industry’s growth and integrity.