FIT Washington Frequently Asked Questions:

What happens if I register for FIT Washington Bridge and I don’t get a response or email?

Check your email spam folder first to make sure it did not land there. If you still don’t see that Welcome email, please reach out to admin@enroutenw.com and our team will look into this and respond within 24 hours (M-F). This could be an indication that you’ve previously registered for FIT Washington Bridge

Where can I learn more about FIT?

For additional information and questions please visit the FIT Washington page located on the Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) Website.

Also helpful and available is the FIT Guide 2023 (wa.gov).

We know that youth are notified of their right to petition the court for inpatient treatment, but do they have the right to petition the court for outpatient treatment?

The FIT law doesn’t specifically preclude a youth from filing a petition at any time during the process. A judge may find the petition not ripe for review if the process hasn’t started.  If the youth is on Medicaid, the youth could appeal through their health plan’s Medicaid rights, but it is unclear if it would be under an adverse benefits determination or some other category, which is the usual starting point for Medicaid appeals process.
RCW 71.34.620

Adolescent’s court petition for release from inpatient treatment facility—Judicial review of medical necessity.

Following the review conducted under RCW 71.34.610, an adolescent may petition the superior court for his or her release from the facility. The petition may be filed not sooner than five days following the review. The court shall release the adolescent unless it finds, upon a preponderance of the evidence, that it is a medical necessity for the adolescent to remain at the facility.

When it comes to the 12 FIT outpatient treatment sessions, what type of visits count toward those visits (for example; if social workers or peer support specialists meet with the youth, do those count as a session)?

The law does not specify or differentiate between encounters with different service providers.

With regard to FIT inpatient, once the paperwork is submitted to the HCA reviewer (after a youth as been determined to have met medical necessity), does the provider need to wait for the reviewer to respond, or can they go ahead and move forward without delay?

The provider should continue providing the treatment they deem necessary until a reviewer determination is received indicating criteria is met or not met for treatment to continue.

With regard to FIT inpatient, once the paperwork is submitted to the HCA reviewer (after a youth as been determined to have met medical necessity), does the provider need to wait for the reviewer to respond, or can they go ahead and move forward without delay?

The provider should continue providing the treatment they deem necessary until a reviewer determination is received indicating criteria is met or not met for treatment to continue.