In the News

Sydney Kurle: What are your plans and goals for health care policy in the 2021 legislative session? Sen. Karen Keiser: The 2021 session is going to be tough because it’s a virtual session, and we’ve never had that situation before. I have two bills that will be oriented towards the health care committee, and I have one that’s in [the] labor [committee]. ...

Legislators have prefiled 134 bills for introduction during the 2021 session. Republican Rep. Blad Klippert has prefiled the most bills thus far with ten, followed by Sen. Karen Keiser with six. As for how this prefiling period compares to last year, the Wire reported in 2019 that 117 bills had been pre-filed as of December 16th. Below is a quick glance at ...

KENNEWICK, WA – Washington State has passed a new bill that caps insurance co-pays for Insulin at $100. The cap is for a 30-day supply of Insulin and applies to private insurance companies. This bill applies to any insurance plan that was started or renewed by January 1, 2021. The bill also allows sharing costs to be applied to one's deductible. There ...

Many Washington residents with diabetes will have an easier time affording insulin this year, as a law imposes a $100 cap on patient copayments. The law applies to any health care plan issued or renewed after Jan. 1 that covers insulin drugs. It includes language to protect people who have “high deductible” insurance from paying more than $100 per 30-day supply. About ...

A new 2021 Washington law caps the cost of insulin at $100 per month. Under the new law, health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2021 must cap insulin copayments, deductibles, and other forms of cost-sharing at $100 per 30-day supply. State Sen. Karen Keiser, a Democrat who represents south King County, filed Senate Bill 6087 in late 2019. The companion House ...

As another COVID-19 relief bill hangs in the balance, unemployment benefits for as many as 12 million Americans expired Saturday night, the day after Christmas. In Washington state, nearly 100,000 unemployed workers could lose their federal unemployment benefits known as PUA or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Bryan Fiehler is a classical singer and a conductor. He does a lot of work with local ...

Fewer Washingtonians filed for jobless benefits last week than the week before, but those who did faced possible delays in a second round of emergency federal benefits after President Donald Trump demanded last-minute changes in the legislation. “You can’t cut the checks … until everything is signed, sealed and delivered,” said state Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, chair of the committee ...

OLYMPIA — Washington's government would spend $57.6 billion over the next two years in its efforts to fight COVID-19, shore up the economy and clean up the environment, under plans released Thursday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

That total for the state's operating budget — which covers most state programs, spending and salaries outside of transportation ...

From the Seattle Times Before the coronavirus pandemic closed most travel between Canada and the United States, a border guard would ask Molly Stenson why she was making a trip to British Columbia just to buy insulin. Stenson, a Mason County resident with Type 1 diabetes, says officers were usually understanding once she explained that in Canada, Costco sells her lifesaving ...