With all that is happening at the federal level, health programs in Washington State are on a positive trajectory. In fact, the Obama administration has recently approved a 5-year Medicaid waiver to improve the quality of low-income residents’ health and health care. In the coming year, NoHLA will be working to ensure effective, person-focused implementation of the waiver, in ways that benefit vulnerable, low-income individuals. But at the same time, the federal threats mean we need to play a defensive role – watching every development and voicing our concern about its impacts on Washington residents. We’ll be communicating the impacts to you, and hoping to share stories about how proposed changes would affect members of our communities, and the state as a whole.