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Featured Policy Priorities
We’re made progress in Washington toward health coverage for all. About 95% of Washingtonians now have insurance coverage. Health reform programs are working to cover and protect over 3 million Washingtonians.
But more reforms are needed to ensure affordability, access, and equity. We asked over 1,000 Washingtonians in 2024 about the health care challenges they faced and the results were staggering: over ½ skipped needed care due to cost, nearly ⅓ struggled with medical debt, and ¾ faced insurance barriers. Many communities of color and rural residents face even deeper disparities.
Policy Opportunities and Achievements
In 2025, we face new threats to health care from federal instability, as well as a serious state budget shortfall. But NoHLA won’t back down from our commitment to health justice. We are fighting cuts to the health safety net and pushing state and federal policymakers to affirm equitable care. Our priorities include:
Equity
Protect Washington’s commitment to equitable care, including bolstering Washington's new immigrant coverage programs and supporting a full range of reproductive care.
Access
Defend Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act from federal attacks. Address access challenges for Washingtonians who rely on public coverage programs.
Affordability
Together with partners in our Fair Health Prices Washington campaign, lower health care prices and safeguard Washingtonians from medical debt and profit-driven corporate health care.
Equity: Expand capacity for Washington’s new immigrant coverage programs.
NoHLA played a key role in securing a historic victory last session: a commitment to make health coverage available to all Washingtonians, regardless of immigration status. As a result of this advocacy, Washington is launched new coverage options for immigrants in 2024. But the funds allocated to these programs fall far short of the need. NoHLA is working alongside community groups across the state:
- Program capacity. Expand capacity for the new coverage programs for undocumented adults.
- Community engagement. We’re supporting additional support for community members to engage with the agencies and ensure public accountability.
- Fair systems. We’re advocating for the state to establish fair waitlist systems until programs are fully funded.
Access: Improve access to care, addressing benefit and cost gaps for Washingtonians who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and Exchange coverage.
Thanks to years of advocacy from NoHLA and allies, most Washingtonians now have health coverage. Unfortunately, many still can’t access care due to missing benefits, high out-of-pocket costs, and bureaucratic hurdles. We’re working on proposals to address these access challenges, including:
- Care denials. We’re fighting excessive prior authorizations and other care denials that create red tape for people seeking care through Apple Health and other coverage programs.
- Medicare Affordability Cliff. We’re raising awareness of the disparities that older adults and people with disabilities face in Medicare, due to missing benefit and cost protections.
- Language access. We’re investigating barriers to care for Washingtonians who speak primary languages other than English.
Affordability: Address the drivers of rising health care prices with proven solutions.
NoHLA is a founding leader of Fair Health Prices WA, a statewide movement to address the root causes of the health care affordability crisis that is pricing Washington families and businesses out of health care. Our past work has led to groundbreaking studies on e big business of health care that is changing our health care landscape. Now we’re driving policy solutions, including:
- Surprise medical bills. We’re working to address medical debt and other unfair medical billing practices.
- Health cost assistance. We’re helping the state develop its innovative public option plan, state premium assistance program, and other measures to improve affordability in our Exchange insurance marketplace.
- Health cost drivers. We’re pushing Washington’s Health Care Cost Transparency Board to accelerate its investigation of what’s driving health care costs sky-high.
Learn more in our 2024 Legislative Wrap-Up.