Last week, the Washington Legislature began its 2020 session with a new Speaker of the House: Representative Laurie Jinkins, the first woman and first openly gay Speaker! 

This is the second year of our biennial legislature, so we have a shorter session lasting only 60 days, ending March 12. Bills need to move quickly to stay alive. Here is a calendar of deadlines for each stage of the state legislative process.

Dozens of health care-related bills have been introduced, and there are more to come. We are monitoring many bills that affect access to health care. A couple that NoHLA is involved in supporting are:

• Expanding Apple Health for Kids to Age 26. In Washington state, many low-income young adults are unable to obtain health insurance because of their immigration status. They are excluded from both the Medicaid (Apple Health) expansion for adults and subsidies through the Health Benefit Exchange. When they turn 19, they age out of Apple Health and are left with no affordable option for medical coverage. HB 1697 would provide those up to age 26 with income below 138% of federal poverty with the same coverage that other low-income adults receive. 

NoHLA Executive Director Janet Varon testified before the House Healthcare & Wellness Committee on January 14 in support of HB 1697, along with “Dreamers,” health care providers, insurer groups, and other advocates. The State Board of Health prepared and presented a Health Impact Review, concluding that there was very strong evidence that this legislation would improve health outcomes and decrease health inequities by immigration status. The bill’s prime sponsor in the House is Representative Macri. There is a companion bill in the Senate, SB 5814, whose prime sponsored is Senator Nguyen.

• Providing post-partum coverage for one year. Apple Health for pregnant women ends two months after birth, but it is well-established that postpartum health needs continue for 12 months. Complications requiring care arise well after Apple Health coverage lapses. The continuity of coverage and care that these bills provide will do much to reduce significant health disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity. The Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee held a hearing on this bill, prime sponsored by Senator Randall (SB 6128), Monday and it is scheduled for a committee vote Friday. The House companion bill’s prime sponsored is Representative Stonier (HB 2381).

We are also watching bills relating to prescription drug costs. Five bills sponsored by Senator Karen Keiser take a variety of approaches to this challenging issue:

• Limiting cost-sharing for a 30-day supply of insulin to $100 (SB 6087). Watch a young insulin-dependent boy’s riveting testimony on the bill.
• Creating a prescription drug affordability board that would conduct cost reviews of drugs priced above a certain threshold and set upper payment limits for state purchasers (SB 6088)
• Requiring the state to design a wholesale program to import prescription drugs from Canada (SB 6110)
• Developing a pharmacy tourism program to allow public employees and other insured individuals to obtain prescription drugs at lower cost outside the U.S. (SB 6111).
• Establishing a work group to design a purchasing strategy to allow a Washington/Oregon prescription drug consortium to act as the single purchaser of insulin for the state of Washington (SB 6113).

We are also hopeful that this is the year for the Dental Therapy bill (HB 1317). This bill would expand access to dental care by authorizing dental therapists to practices statewide. This will improve access to dental care, especially in rural, low-income communities and communities of color, and to patients who are insured through Apple Health or uninsured. In 2019, the bill made it to the House floor where it is now poised for a vote.

We’re pleased to report that the House has already passed a bill to create a state Office of Equity (HB 1783). Now this bill moves to the Senate. We anticipate that if it passes, this office will help to address health care disparities, among other important equity issues. 

More to come as the session continues! Watch for NoHLA updates on legislation relating to health care access every two to three weeks.

NOTE: For latest news on the 2020 Legislative Session, see NoHLA’s Legislative Update page and click on the most recent update.

–Janet Varon, NoHLA Executive Director