Welcome to the first week of the Washington state legislative session! Legislators are back in-person in Olympia for the first time since the pandemic and we expect there will be a lot of activity on big health care issues during this 105-day “long session,” the first in the biennial budget cycle.  The budget will be critical as pandemic relief funds wane and the Legislature grapples with continued recovery priorities. And we expect legislators to tackle many critical issues that impact health, including  behavioral health, homelessness and affordable housing, reproductive rights, gun violence prevention, and whether to recriminalize drug possession. Throughout session, we’ll be monitoring these developments and reporting back. 

We also look forward to sharing updates on our three top priorities this session:

• expanding health coverage to immigrants by ensuring there is full funding for programs to launch by 2024 as well as codification of the programs in law.
• addressing the Medicare Affordability Cliff by expanding income eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program that eliminates premiums and cost-sharing for people with income under 138% of the federal poverty level.
• tackling escalating health prices by supporting data-driven policy options so people don’t have to choose between health care and paying for food and rent. 
  • Learn how consolidation, underlying costs, and a lack of healthy competition all contribute to Washington’s health costs. Unfair pricing practices were the focus of a recent court case involving Premera and The Everett Clinic. 
  • Read why NoHLA Senior Attorney and Policy Advisor Emily Brice was featured in the Daily Herald this week, asking, “If the courts and insurance companies can’t stop price increases, then who can?”