This update was provided by WDHA’s Lobbyist, Devin Gombosky. For questions, please send them to info@wsdha.org and we’ll direct them to Devin & our Regulation & Practice Committee.
2026 Legislative Session: What WDHA Delivered
- Defeated SB 6146. WDHA mobilized within a day of the bill being scheduled and killed a proposal to create a lower-tier, unlicensed “oral preventive assistant” role. A direct win for patient safety and the value of your license. Did we defeat this? Don’t think it was heard
- Defended adult dental coverage. In a brutal budget year, WDHA and the state Dental One Table helped preserve the comprehensive adult Apple Health dental benefit for more than one million Washingtonians.
- Laid the groundwork for modernization. Direct meetings with the House and Senate Health Care Committee’s set the stage for a Dental Hygiene Modernization Act.
- Showed up in Olympia. Dozens of member meetings on Hill Day put hygienists face-to-face with lawmakers in both chambers..
2027: What’s Coming
- Introduce and advance the Dental Hygiene Modernization Act, expanding scope of practice, better utilizing the hygiene workforce, and updating standards to reflect today’s education and training.
- Fight the reimbursement cuts, 2026 reduced dental provider rates, and WDHA will keep pressing for provider sustainability and patient access.
- Build the workforce pipeline through continued collaboration with Delta stakeholders of Washington on recruitment, training, and career pathways.
- We expect the OPA bill will come up again. We need everyone’s voice
Happening Now: A Seat at the Table on Dental Workforce
- WDHA is part of a dental stakeholder discussion on workforce barriers and potential solutions, hosted by Sen. Marcus Riccelli and Rep. Andrew Engell. Participants include WSDHA, DHAW, WSDAA, Arcora, HCA, Delta Dental, Willamette Dental, the WA Workforce Board, the WA Association for Community Health, and higher education partners (UW, PNWU, EWU, Skagit Valley Dental Therapy, and YVCC).
What Can You Do?
- Register for the 2026 House of Delegates. This is where members set the priorities behind every win above, and where WDHA builds the coordinated advocacy power that defeated SB 6146. The 2027 modernization push needs your voice in the room.