It is the public policy of Washington to promote access to medical care for all citizens and to encourage innovative arrangements between patients and providers that will help provide all citizens with a medical home.

     Washington needs a multipronged approach to provide adequate health care to many citizens who lack adequate access to it. Direct patient-provider practices, in which patients enter into a direct relationship with medical practitioners and pay a fixed amount directly to the health care provider for primary care services, represent an innovative, affordable option which could improve access to medical care, reduce the number of people who now lack such access, and cut down on emergency room use for primary care purposes, thereby freeing up emergency room facilities to treat true emergencies.

[2007 c 267 § 1.]