AN ACT Relating to professionalizing first responders and co-responders through training and reimbursement for behavioral health emergency response;
HB 1809 is a Washington bill aimed at professionalizing behavioral health emergency response by first responders and co-responders. It finds that behavioral health crises are increasingly handled by fire, EMS, and law enforcement, and that a more coordinated crisis-care system is needed to connect people in crisis to appropriate treatment and support rather than defaulting to emergency departments or the criminal justice system. The bill directs the state to expand training, create a behavioral health endorsement for certain EMS personnel, and build statewide and regional training and coordination structures.
The bill requires the University of Washington’s Behavioral Health Crisis Outreach Response and Education Center, in coordination with the Department of Health and other stakeholders, to develop and offer training for EMTs, advanced EMTs, paramedics, and physicians trained as advanced EMTs. It also authorizes a voluntary behavioral health endorsement tied to certification, establishes rules for recognizing training as part of ongoing EMS education, and requires the Department of Health to set standards for certification, recertification, and discipline related to these credentials. In addition, the bill creates a pilot project in four behavioral health administrative services organizations to develop best practices for coordinating behavioral health crisis responses and billing strategies for agencies that are not designated mobile rapid response crisis teams.
HB 1809 also requires reimbursement under medical assistance programs for fire departments and EMS agencies providing behavioral health services through certified personnel with the new endorsement. It further directs the state to establish a coreresponse education training academy, expand access statewide, support small and rural programs with grants, and produce annual assessments of workforce capacity, funding, data systems, training needs, and alignment with crisis response systems. The bill’s statutory impact is broad: it amends multiple RCW sections governing EMS certification, medical program directors, and behavioral health crisis response, while adding new sections that create training, endorsement, reimbursement, pilot, and reporting requirements.
Overall, the bill appears to have a supportive policy orientation focused on improving crisis response capacity, reducing burnout among first responders, and better linking people in crisis to behavioral health services. Because no committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, there is no documented legislative debate or vote history to indicate formal support or opposition in the materials supplied. The bill text itself emphasizes collaboration, voluntary participation, and statewide implementation, suggesting an effort to balance professional standards with flexibility for existing EMS and co-response systems.
HB 1809 would amend Washington’s EMS and behavioral health crisis-response statutes to create new training, certification, endorsement, reimbursement, and reporting frameworks. It would authorize a voluntary behavioral health endorsement for certain EMTs, advanced EMTs, paramedics, and physician-trained EMS personnel; require the Department of Health to adopt rules and standards for those credentials; and require Medicaid/medical assistance reimbursement for behavioral health services delivered by certified personnel with the endorsement. It also establishes new state responsibilities for UW’s behavioral health crisis center, regional collaboration, pilot projects, annual assessments, and a coreresponse training academy, affecting EMS agencies, fire departments, law enforcement partners, behavioral health organizations, and rural/small programs.
The bill’s stated purpose and structure reflect generally favorable sentiment toward expanding behavioral health crisis response capacity and professionalizing the workforce that responds to such calls. The text frames the measure as a way to improve patient outcomes, reduce emergency department overcrowding, and better support first responders through training and reimbursement. Because no committee testimony or votes were provided, there is no direct evidence of opposition or divided sentiment in the supplied record; the available materials present the bill as a collaborative systems-improvement proposal.
The main potential points of contention in the bill are operational and fiscal rather than ideological. The bill creates new training and endorsement requirements, reimbursement obligations, pilot projects, and reporting duties, which could raise concerns about implementation costs, administrative burden, and how smaller or rural agencies will participate. It also requires coordination among multiple entities—DOH, UW, behavioral health administrative services organizations, EMS councils, and local agencies—which may prompt questions about governance, funding, and whether the new endorsement should remain voluntary. The bill text addresses some of these concerns by emphasizing optional participation, statewide access, and grants for small and rural programs.