{"id":989,"date":"2019-06-17T16:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T23:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sdc.wastateleg.org\/pedersen\/?p=973"},"modified":"2020-09-22T10:18:42","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T17:18:42","slug":"2019-session-review-improving-public-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/pedersen\/2019\/06\/17\/2019-session-review-improving-public-health\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Session Review: Improving public health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Senate Democrats met late last year to prepare for the 2019 legislative session, we agreed that access to quality health care should be one of our top priorities. Washington state has dramatically improved access to health care over the last decade. The passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, along with bipartisan legislation at the state level to expand Medicaid in 2013, helped our state achieve a record-low uninsured rate. This session, we built on that strong base.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Protecting\nthe public from communicable diseases<\/h3>\n\n\n

Recent measles\noutbreaks around the state provide a stark reminder of why widespread\nimmunization is crucial to our collective health and safety. In recent years,\nsome parents have been swayed by online campaigns to sow doubt as to the safety\nof vaccinations and have declined to vaccinate their children. This year\u2019s\npassage of HB 1638<\/a> eliminates the personal belief exemption from\nvaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Absent a medical or\nreligious exemption, all students attending public or private schools will be\nrequired to be vaccinated for MMR.<\/p>\n\n\n

Protecting\nconsumers from surprise billing<\/h3>\n\n\n

For years,\nmedical providers and insurance companies have argued about who should pay, and\nhow much, when a patient receives emergency services from a hospital or doctor\nwho is not under contract with the patient\u2019s insurance company. Consumers have\nbeen caught in the middle, left with surprise medical bills that are sometimes\nin the thousands of dollars. HB 1065<\/a> will protect consumers by creating mechanisms for\nthe providers and insurers to work these issues out. <\/p>\n\n\n

Landmark\ninsurance program for workers\u2019 long-term care <\/h3>\n\n\n

Most people\nwill need long-term care at some point. Many will see their life savings and\nproperty consumed to pay the costs of nursing homes or other care. No one\nshould have to spend their way into poverty to be eligible for long-term care\nthrough Medicaid, which is the grim reality facing too many households today. HB 1087<\/a> establishes the Long Term Care Trust Act, a public\nlong-term care program funded by a monthly payroll fee of just over one half of\n1 percent \u2013 or 58 cents for every hundred dollars in income. Once the program\nis up and running, eligible recipients will receive up to $100 a day for 365\ndays to help meet the cost of long-term care. It\u2019s a modest first step that\nwill help millions of Washingtonians prepare for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n

First\nstate to provide a public option <\/h3>\n\n\n

While we\u2019ve significantly lowered the number of Washingtonians without health insurance, many households still struggle to access affordable health insurance. SB 5526<\/a>, also known as Cascade Care, is designed to lower premiums and deductibles for families and people purchasing insurance on the individual market \u2013 households that do not receive health insurance through an employer or qualify for Medicaid. The new law caps total provider and facility reimbursement rates, which will help keep premium and deductible costs down for patients.<\/p>\n\n\n

Protecting\nexisting benefits<\/h3>\n\n\n

Unfortunately,\nprotections that consumers have come to rely on since the passage of the\nAffordable Care Act in 2010 have been targeted for elimination. This year, we\npassed HB 1870<\/a>, which will ensure that health care policies sold\nin Washington maintain existing patient protections even if those standards are\neliminated at the federal level. Among other things, this means you cannot be\ndenied insurance after surviving cancer or other pre-existing conditions; you\ncannot be forced into bankruptcy because of a lifetime cap on health costs; and\nyou cannot be forced to pay extra for basic and essential health benefits such\nas contraception and mammograms.<\/p>\n\n\n

Cracking\ndown on prescription drug price increases<\/h3>\n\n\n

One of the\nmajor frustrations in health care today is the confusion over how the\nprescription drugs we need are priced. Patients frequently struggle to navigate\na maze of confusing and convoluted terminology, pricing, paperwork and\ndecisions. Drug prices seem to spike with little warning or\njustification. HB 1224<\/a> adds clarity and control by requiring drug\nmanufacturers, pharmaceutical benefit managers, and others in the supply chain\nto disclose past and planned changes in prescription drug prices and explain\nthose changes.<\/p>\n\n\n

We also passed\nseveral other key measures related to health care this year:<\/p>\n\n\n