issue area reports | healthcare
Sen . Annette Cleveland , D-Vancouver , is chair of the Health & Long Term Care Committee . Sen . Emily Randall , D-Bremerton , is vice chair . Sen . Steve O ’ Ban , R-University Place , is the committee ’ s ranking member .
transportation services for non-emergent care is critical for rural areas where not all services are available , leaving some
Rep . Eileen Cody , D-West Seattle , is chair of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee .
patients without care , who then access it when it becomes acute . ESSB 6534 passed the Senate 44-4 and the House 87-10 .
SSB 6088 establishing a prescription drug affordability board
Governor Veto / AWB Opposed
Sponsored by Sen . Karen Keiser , D-Kent , Substitute Senate Bill 6088 would have established the prescription drug affordability board , required the board to identify prescription drugs priced above a certain threshold , and authorize the board to conduct cost reviews of drugs and set upper payment limits for state purchasers . AWB has over 7,000 members across the state . Three thousand of those members provide health care insurance for their employees through an Association Health Plan ( AHP ) provided through AWB . This is a fully insured robust health plan that covers nearly 40,000 lives and has an annual retention rate of over 90 %.
When methods ( cost limits for state purchasers ) are put in place , like those proposed in SSB 6088 , the cost of health care increases for employer-sponsored insurance plans such as AWB ’ s AHP . An evaluation of health care costs , like the mechanism established in the passage of 2SHB 2457 , may be pertinent , but we do not need a system that fixes costs and which can decrease access and quality . A free market health care delivery system provides a high level of quality of health care services and access to innovative treatments and health care solutions . Methods such as those proposed in SSB 6088 have the potential to impact access , quality and affordability in our health care market . SSB 6088 passed the Senate 31-17 and the House 94-3 . SSB 6088 was one of the bills vetoed by the governor in an effort to provide funding to address the COVID-19 crisis .
Bill considered as part of AWB ’ s voting record
Favorable outcome for Washington businesses
Missed Opportunities
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