Universal Health Care (UHC) Legislation

SJM 8004 Concerning Universal Health Care.

Sponsors: Hasegawa, Bateman, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, Wellman

What this bill does:  

• Requests that the federal government create a universal health care program 
• Allows Washington State to implement a universal health system by reducing barriers or granting appropriate waivers

UHC Foundational Bills 

SB 5493 Hospital price transparency

Sponsors: Riccelli, Robinson, Conway, Nobles, Ramos, Stanford, Valdez, Wilson, C.

What this bill does:  

• Requires hospitals to comply with federal hospital price transparency rules.
• Provides enforcement authority to the Department of Health.
• Requires the Department of Health to develop an interactive tool to allow the public to search and compare hospital prices.

SB 5083 Ensuring access to primary care, behavioral health, and affordable hospital services.(Reference-based pricing )

Sponsors: Macri, Berry, Reed, Fitzgibbon, Alvarado, Callan, Obras, Farivar, Doglio, Simmons, Wylie, Nance, Berg, Ormsby, Lekanoff, Reeves, Hill
Companion Bill: HB 1123

What this bill does:  

• Requires hospitals that participate in the Health Care Authority’s Medical Care Services programs to contract with the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) and School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) carriers upon receipt of a good faith offer.

• Sets reimbursement levels for hospitals within the PEBB and SEBB network beginning on January 1, 2027.

• Provides different reimbursement limits for children's hospitals, and minimum reimbursement limits for primary care and behavioral health services.
• Excludes Rural Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Sole Community Hospitals, and certain hospitals located on islands.

Immediate Needs

SB 5480 Protecting consumers by removing barriers created by medical debt.

Sponsors: Riccelli, Bateman, Alvarado, Chapman, Hasegawa, Lovelett, Nobles, Orwall, Ramos, Robinson, Slatter, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, Wilson, C.

What this bill does:  

• Declares that medical debt will not negatively impact credit reports or credit scores.
• Prohibits reporting medical debt to credit reporting agencies or credit bureau, on pain of committing a violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

HB 1392 Creating the Medicaid access program.

Sponsors: Macri, Leavitt, Simmons, Davis, Berry, Ryu, Callan, Rule, Stearns, Peterson, Taylor, Reed, Ramel, Alvarado, Doglio, Tharinger, Fey, Salahuddin, Bernbaum, Fosse, Pollet, Street, Scott, Santos

What this bill does:  

• Leverages federal funding to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates for physician services to at least Medicare levels. 
• This change will expand access to care for nearly one-fourth of Washington residents covered by Medicaid.

Budget Provisos

We were also successful in three important budget provisions that we initiated. In the context of the significant reduction in the state budget, we:

1. maintained our request for $514,000 funding for the UHCC
2. maintained our request for $1M funding to transition those who lose Medicaid coverage to WA Health Benefit Exchange healthcare insurance.
3. secured funding for a study to determine the effect of credit history on health insurance premiums.

Together, these legislative achievements create a foundation for more equitable, transparent, and accessible health care in Washington state, bringing HCFA-WA closer to our vision of publicly funded, privately delivered health care for all Washington residents.