Legislative Update

February 2015

WCOMO

2015 – 2017 Budget

State Budget TimelineJan 12 Legislative session begins – 105 days long

Feb 19 Revenue forecast

March 11 House of origin cutoff

Late March Senate and House each propose a budget

April Conference budget debated

April 15 Opposite house cutoff

April 26 Regular session ends

July 1 New fiscal year starts

Highlight on Bills

Immunizations:Improving Community

Immunity

Workforce Shortage: Expand State Loan

Repayment Program

Promote Behavioral Health Integration in

Primary Care

Affordable Coverage: Evaluate Affordability

and Continuity of Coverage

Public Dialogue on Immunizations• Current measles outbreak has sparked

public dialogue about the importance of immunizations

• Issues before the legislature:– Removing philosophical exemption to vaccines

for school entry (HB 2009)– Funding for vaccines for CHP– Providing vaccine resources to expecting

parents (SB 5143)

Expand State Loan Repayment Program

• Requesting $8M to restore the program back to pre-2011 levels

• 2 pieces of legislation recognize importance of program – HB 1080 – sponsored by Rep. Paul Harris (R)– SB 5010 – sponsored by Sen. David Frockt (D)

• Coalition of supporters, including medical, dental, nurses and hospital associations

Promote Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care

• WA is moving towards financial integration of physical, mental health and chemical dependency by 2020

• King County envisions delivery system integration starting with the Mental Health Integration Program in primary care settings– Front load costs of care coordinators and psychiatric

consultation– Estimated cost of $11.9M – Proven model

Evaluate Affordability &Continuity of Coverage

• Many barriers still prevent people from obtaining health insurance including churn and affordability

• HB 1669 would help better us understand these barriers by:– Creating a Continuity of Coverage task force– Procuring a study to evaluate affordability,

churn, and availability.

Budget Discussions for HBE

• HBE has asked the legislature to lift the original $80 million/biennium cap on their budget– HBE has requested $147 million

• Importance of Special Enrollment Period • Many discussions to come

Save Health Care in WA Clinic Cards in 2015

Over 21,000 people have signed cards addressed to their legislators via the clinic card program

151 participating clinics from across the state

www.SaveHealthCareinWA.org• FAST — Online action is

the fastest way to respond to the Legislature

• STRATEGIC — Legislators receive emails during critical points

• EASY — Sign up at the website

Take action yourself. Pass it on.

WithinReach Action Alerts

• Sign up to be receive alerts and take action on key issues!

Questions?

Carrie Glover, WithinReachKatie Hewitt, Community Health Network of WA