TAKE ACTION: Contact your Washington State Senator to urge passage of SB 5602! Click here for a list of senators and a script.

The Reproductive Health Care Access for All Act (RHAA) would be a step toward attaining reproductive health equity for Washingtonians. The bill (SB 5602), currently in Senate Rules after passing out of Senate Ways and Means, would provide coverage for immigrants who are currently ineligible for Medicaid, Affordable Care Act Qualified Health Plans, or “Take Charge,” the state’s Family Planning Program. The covered benefits are reproductive health services equivalent to those offered under Take Charge and include all FDA approved contraceptive methods. Enrollees must have income no greater than 260% of FPL, like Take Charge.

The bill also seeks to increase access for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals in the provision of reproductive health care through stronger nondiscrimination protections. The bill specifically prohibits automatic denials of coverage based on an individual’s gender marker. Last but not least, the bill also makes explicit that some provisions of the Reproductive Parity Act (RPA) SB 6219 passed last year, apply to student health plans.

NoHLA, along with partners from the Health Equity Reproductive Rights Organizations (HERRO) Coalition, took the lead in drafting the bill, working with state agency staff to iron out technicalities and conduct outreach to impacted communities. Huma Zarif of NoHLA testified in support of the bill in the Senate Health & Long Term Care committee. To stay informed of the status of this and other health care access bills, see NoHLA’s legislative update.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your Washington State Senator to urge passage of SB 5602! Click here for a list of senators and a script.

-Huma Zarif, NoHLA Staff Attorney