In December, we celebrated the announcement of Washington state’s groundbreaking section 1332 innovation waiver which will provide access to health care in 2024 for an estimated 105,000 people who previously were not eligible to purchase health insurance because of their immigration status. However, NoHLA and other supporters of the Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign (HEIC) now fear that without adequate state funding, the launch for coverage expansion set for January 2024 may be in jeopardy. NoHLA and 162 other organizations sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to provide full funding in the biennial budget to make coverage available and affordable for all who qualify.

To ensure a successful rollout, the letter requested the Legislature provide:

• full funding for the Medicaid equivalent program for those up to 138% FPL;
• Cascade Care premium assistance for those up to 250% FPL;
• outreach and enrollment that is community-led and linguistically appropriate; and
• studies to identify how to address outstanding equity gaps in the programs.

Advocates argue that funding is necessary to ensure that all Washingtonians have access to the coverage and care they need and without it, immigrant communities will be relegated to the shadows by ongoing marginalization that may obscure need.