Healthcare

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PSARA believes that comprehensive, affordable, accessible, and culturally appropriate health care is a fundamental human right.

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Highest Priority: SJM 8002 (Hasagawa), Urge Congress to Level the Playing Field between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Status: Passed Senate 30-19. Hearing House Healthcare and Wellness March 21, 8:00 a.m.

Sponsors: Hasagawa, Chapman, Stanford, Trudeau, Valde

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Medicare is a core part of our health care system, especially for seniors, but is in danger. Investors and private insurance companies are taking advantage of lax rules in the Medicare Advantage part of the program to increase profits and drive up costs – too often by limiting or denying access to needed care. Improving benefits in Original Medicare, the public part of the program, and cracking down on fraud and abuse in private Medicare Advantage programs will save billions in taxpayer money and strengthen our whole healthcare system.

 

1.5 million Washington residents are Medicare beneficiaries.  

When first enrolling, people must choose between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Original Medicare has many advantages: beneficiaries can choose almost any doctor or hospital, and rarely experience delays or denials due to prior authorization requirements. However, Original Medicare has a 20% co-pay with no cap, so many purchase supplemental insurance which averages over $200 per month. 

·      Medicare Advantage (MA) is private, usually for-profit insurance that has significantly lower monthly premiums than Original Medicare plus supplemental insurance, making it seem more attractive. But its plans have limited provider networks, often require prior authorization, and can end up being very costly for people needing extensive care. 

·      Many seniors opt for MA plans, especially those with limited incomes, disproportionately people of color. However, when they face a complex problem like cancer or a stroke, many discover the doctor or hospital they want is out of network, and insurance gatekeepers frequently delay or deny prescribed care, potentially causing serious harm.

·      Medicare Advantage insurers take significantly more money per beneficiary from the Medicare Trust Fund than Original Medicare, because they do their own risk assessment on each beneficiary and bill the Medicare Trust Fund upfront. Government and academic studies estimate that overpayments through upcoding, fraud and other abuses cost Medicare between $85 billion to $140 billion annually.  

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SB 5291 (Conway): Strengthening WA Cares Act, by implementing the recommendations of the Long-term Services and Supports Trust Commission. Status: Passed Senate 38-31.

Sponsors: Senators Conway, Saldaña, Cleveland, Frame, Nobles, Stanford, Valdez, C. Wilson; Reps.(HB 1415) Macri, Tharinger, Reed, Fey, Ormsby, Hill

 

Washington took the lead in creating the first public long term care program in the country to address the growing crisis in elder care. As with any major program, continuing improvements are required. The substitute bill strengthens the program by adjusting provisions for workers who move out of state, providing automatic exemptions for military, and launching a pilot for supplemental insurance. 

• The vast majority of people do not purchase private long term care insurance because it is expensive and too often cannot be relied on at the point when someone needs care.

• WA voters showed their support of WA Care by voting down the 2024 initiative to undermine the program (I-2124).

SJM 8004 (Hasagawa): Requests that the federal government create a universal health care program or allow Washington State to implement one. Status: Passed Senate 30-19. Hearing House Healthcare and Wellness March 21, 8:00 a.m.

Sponsors: Senators Hasegawa, Bateman, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez and Wellman.

Despite gains in coverage, too many Washingtonians are struggling to both access and afford health care as premiums rise in the commercial health insurance market. Inadequate coverage and medical costs are the largest contributors to bankruptcies. Universal health care coverage will improve the health of our whole community. We must bring everybody in and leave nobody out of this basic right to health care.

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Workoers Rights

PSARA supports legislation that promotes healthy families and workplaces.

HB 1213 (Berry): Provides job protection for all workers using Paid Family & Medical Leave benefits. Status: Passed House 55-41. 

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Sponsors: HB 1213 - Representatives Berry, Fosse, Reed, Obras, Fitzgibbon, Alvarado, Mena, Macri, Ryu, Farivar, Doglio, Simmons, Peterson, Street, Wylie, Pollet, Ormsby, Lekanoff, Salahuddin and Hill. SB 5539 - Senators Alvarado, Stanford, Frame, Nobles, Riccelli, Slatter, Trudeau, Valdez and C. Wilson.

Washington had the best PFML program in the country when first passed. Since benefits began in 2020, hundreds of thousands of Washington workers and families have benefitted  from parental leave, time to heal from surgeries or recover from cancer, and time to be with loved ones during health crises. But only about half of workers are guaranteed their jobs will be protected and health insurance will continue during their leaves. Low wage workers and workers of color are most at risk of being forced back to work too early in order to keep their jobs.

• Now job protection only covers those in companies with 50+ workers who have been in their jobs at least a year and worked at least 1250 hours in the previous year. This bill changes that to all workers who have been with their employer at least 90 days.

• Nine of the 13 other states with programs include job protections for most workers.

• The bill expands the small business grant program to cover health insurance premiums for employees out on PFML in companies with fewer than 50 employees.

• The bill also reduces the minimum claim from 8 to 4 consecutive hours and  incorporates additional employer protections concerning coordination with FMLA requested by the business community.

• A broad coalition of labor, senior, health, and community groups support the bill. The Association of Washington Business (AWB) and other major business groups are neutral on the substitute bill, although a few business groups oppose.

 

SB 5041 (Riccelli) Extends unemployment benefits to striking workers. Status: Passed Senate 28-21. Hearing House Labor and Workplace Standards 3-18 10:30 a.m. 

 

Sponsors: Senators Riccelli, Conway, Hasegawa, Saldaña, Salomon, Stanford, Dhingra, Nobles, Trudeau, Valdez, Bateman, Lovelett, Cleveland, Frame, Orwall, Pedersen, Slatter, Wellman and C. Wilson

This bill would allow striking and locked out workers to collected unemployment insurance after 2 weeks out of work. UI provides a vital safety net for working families and their communities, allowing them to cover basic necessities. This bill will help level the balance of power between workers negotiating in good faith for fair working conditions and their better resourced employers, especially for lower wage workers. 

• Most strikes are resolved quickly, within 2 weeks. Only 7 strikes in the past decade would have qualified, so the bill will have minimal impact on the UI trust fund.

 

HB 1214 (Thai)/SB 5768 (Saldana): Expands eligibility for the Working Families' Tax Credit to include people 18 years of age or older. Status: SB 5768 Dead.

 

HB 1214 Sponsors: Representatives Thai, Reed, Shavers, Farivar, Simmons, Pollet, Lekanoff and Scott.

 

SB 5768 Sponsors: Senators Saldaña, Cleveland, Cortes, Dhingra, Frame, Krishnadasan, Nobles, Riccelli, Slatter, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez and Wilson, C.

 

Background: In 2021, the Legislature established the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) Program, based in part on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program. It provides a refundable credit for retail sales or use tax paid by low-to-moderate income Washington residents who meet certain eligibility requirements.  Under current law, to be eligible one must be over 24 years old, but under 65 years of age, or have a qualifying child.

 

How does eligibility change under the proposed legislation?

 

• Expands eligibility for the Working Families' Tax Credit to include people 18 years of age or older without regard to filing with a qualifying child. 

• For seniors still working, this is a critically significant benefit.

 

Housing and Homelessness

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PSARA supports keeping people housed, building more low-income housing, and preventing homelessness in the firs place. 

HB 1217 (Macri)/ SB 5222 (Trudeau): provides renters and manufactured homeowners with predictability over their housing costs by limiting annual rent increases to no more than 7% a year. Status: HB 1217 Passed House 53-42 Senate Hearing Housing 3-19 1:30 p.m.

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HB 1217 (Macri)

Sponsors: Representatives Macri, Ramel, Peterson, Berry, Mena, Thai, Reed, Obras, Farivar, Parshley, Ortiz-Self, Cortes, Duerr, Street, Berg, Taylor, Fitzgibbon, Doglio, Timmons, Tharinger, Fosse, Gregerson, Simmons, Wylie, Pollet, Kloba, Nance, Davis, Ormsby, Lekanoff, Berquist, Scott, Stonier, Hill

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SB 5222 (Trudeau) 

Sponsors: Senators Trudeau, Chapman, Bateman, Conway, Frame, Hasegawa, Lovelett, Nobles, Orwell, Pedersen, Riccelli, Robinson, Saldana, Slatter, Stanford, Valdez, Wilson, C. 

Why is rent stabilization needed? 

 

• Washington is already one of the most expensive rental markets in the country, and many tenants receive excessive rent increases even while landlords are not performing basic repairs. 

• Black, Indigenous, and other people of color households in Washington are disproportionately renters. In addition, data from the Census Bureau Pulse Survey in 2024 showed that Black renters in Washington receive higher rent increases than other demographic groups. Advancing tenant protections like rent stabilization is critical to address the housing needs of BIPOC households. 

• Evictions continue to rise on a year-over-year basis, with several parts of our state seeing higher eviction rates than before the pandemic. Rent increases are a key driver of evictions and homelessness.

 

HB 1491 (Reed) promotes transit-oriented housing development. Status: Passed House 58-39. Senate Hearing Housing 3-14 1:30 p.m.

 

Sponsors: Representatives Reed, Richards, Berry, Duerr, Cortes, Doglio, Ryu, Fitzgibbon, Alvarado, Davis, Ramel, Parshley, Mena, Peterson, Nance, Macri, Fosse, Kloba, Ormsby, Scott. 

 

HB 1491 Requires cities planning under the Growth Management Act to allow new residential and mixed-use development within a station area at certain transit-oriented development densities. Establishes affordability requirements and authorizes a 20-year property tax exemption for residential and mixed-use buildings constructed within a station area.

 

Why is HB 1491 needed?

 

• This bill addresses the urgent need for housing by making it

              possible to build new and denser housing around the most used transit 

              assets. 

• Transit oriented development will help the state add significantly more homes while reducing sprawl, cutting pollution, and making communities more affordable to a range of incomes.

 

Climate and Environmental Justice

 

PSARA supports the right of all people to live and work in a clean and healthy environment.

 

HB 1150 (Berry) /SB 5284 (Lovelett) improves Washington’s solid waste management program. Status: SB 5284 Passed Senate 27-22. House Hearing Energy 3-17 1:30 p.m. 

 

HB 1150 Sponsors: Representatives Berry, Donaghy, Ryu, Ramel, Farivar, Mena, Alvarado, Duerr, Reed, Fitzgibbon, Callan, Macri, Doglio, Fosse, Simmons, Street, Pollet, Kloba, Nance, Davis, Ormsby, Salahuddin and Hill.

 

SB 5284 Sponsors: Senators Lovelett, Shewmake, Nobles, Bateman, Salomon, Saldaña, Stanford, Wilson, C., Frame, Pedersen, Hasegawa, Liias, Orwall, Slatter and Valdez.

 

Background: In 2021, the Legislature established minimum recycled content requirements applicable to three categories of plastic products or products in plastic containers: trash bags, household and personal care product containers, and plastic beverage containers. Producers subject to minimum postconsumer recycling content (PCRC) requirements were required to register with Ecology and pay fees to cover Ecology's administrative costs related to minimum recycled content standards beginning in 2022. 

 

What improvements do the bills make?

 

• Establishes an extended producer responsibility program for covered packaging and paper products.

• Requires producers of covered packaging and paper products to join a producer responsibility organization.

• Specifies requirements related to planning, funding, enforcement, and outcomes for the program.

 

Budget and Fiscal Reform 

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PSARA supports a state budget that is transparent, pays a living wage to state workers, and provides services that help our people, economy, and environment thrive. 

New progressive sources of revenue are essential to prevent devastating cuts to programs that keep people across Washington housed, fed, and healthy. Please don’t pass a budget that further harms the very people already struggling and undermines our children’s future. We can make our tax system and state stronger now and in the long run by finally asking the very wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes. 

• The legislature must pass a new 2-year for the biennium that starts July 1, 2025, but the state faces a multi-billion dollar shortfall due to inflation, increased caseloads, and slower tax revenue growth. Possible cuts include sharp reductions in health care affordability and access, fewer kids in childcare and preschool, furloughs for state employees, less support for foodbanks and housing, and cuts to almost all state programs, including senior services.

• The all-cuts budget of 2009 harmed the health and well-being of Washingtonians for years, and made our families and communities less prepared and resilient for the devastation of the COVID pandemic. The influx of federal funds and the strong, forward-looking budgets passed by our legislature during the early stages of the pandemic helped get our people and state through that crisis.

• Washington’s tax system is highly regressive, with low- and moderate- income Washingtonians paying at far higher rates than the wealthy. Small businesses also pay higher rates than large profitable corporations. Continued growth in economic inequality helps feed the state budget crisis.

Possible new revenue sources include:

HB 1319 Wealth Tax (Street) Creates a 1% tax on financial assets (stocks and bonds) over $100 million.

Sponsors:  Reps. Street, Macri, Ormsby (Office of Fiscal Management request legislation, requested by Gov. Inslee)

Wealth inequality is skyrocketing, while our state struggles to fund educational opportunity, health care, and basic services. Middle class Washingtonians pay annual property taxes on their most significant asset – their home – while the main financial assets of billionaires and mega-millionaires go untaxed. A modest 1% tax on financial assets such as stocks and bonds would allow for ample funding of public education, childcare and early learning, higher education, and provide the services that will allow all our people to thrive.

• In previous sessions, the Dept. of Revenue estimated that a similar wealth tax proposed by Sen. Frame and Rep. Thai would raise up to $4.5 billion annually.

• This new tax would make Washington’s highly regressive tax system more fair.

HB 1839 (Reed) Creating equity in high tech tax by removing the cap.

Sponsors: Reps Reed, Pollet, Berg, Parshley, Scott, Ormsby and Hill.

This bill will help stave off devastating cuts to education and vital public services, and make Washington’s tax system less regressive by asking our biggest and most wealthy corporations to pay a little more. 

• The bill eliminates an arbitrary cap of $9 million for high tech companies with worldwide gross revenues over $25 billion in the advanced computing surcharge.

• The Dept. of Revenue estimates the bill will add $231 million in the 2025-27 biennium, and $404 million in 2027-29.

• Revenue from the advanced computing surcharge is dedicated to the Workforce Education Investment Account.