Reports & Articles
This report provides a series of data snapshots that illustrate our state’s progress toward embedding the values of fairness, care, and opportunity into the foundations of our economy.
Together, these solutions will help keep our health care system working for those it was created for: the patients.
Initiative Measure 1 will provide a higher minimum wage for more people working in Burien over time.
The truth is, Optum and other mega giants are buying up our health care system – and patients are paying the price. So what can we do about it?
The health care crisis in Washington state is more urgent than ever.
As medical debt reaches untenable highs across the country, we must make protecting patients our top priority.
We are already failing our elders and others who need care in our society. We can and should do better.
Hospitals are a critical piece of our communities. Within those walls, babies are born. The sick receive treatment. And sometimes, we say goodbye. But unlike in the past – when they were small, community-run entities – many of today’s hospitals are massive, complex structures, operated within equally massive, complex systems. Health care is no longer […]
Washington residents know that the only thing worse than needing medical care is the fight to get it – and pay for it. And thanks to unchecked greed and unregulated hospital consolidations, these problems are only growing. The Washington State Legislature is taking this issue on this session as it considers a bill to better […]
Washington’s health care workers and patients banded together this year to address our health care staffing crisis and – despite significant pushback from the hospital industry – won a major victory. Governor Inslee signed the Safe Staffing bill (SB 5236) into law on April 20th, following passage in the House and Senate with strong bipartisan […]
It’s no secret. High health care costs are driving Washington workers and families over the edge. More than 400,000 people in our state are being chased by debt collectors for medical bills. Four out of five Washingtonians recently surveyed say they’re worried about affording their health care. And drug companies, major health systems, and insurers keep asking for skyrocketing price […]
Health care costs in the United States are out of control. As a nation, we spend double what similar countries spend – and our costs continue to rise.
This week President Joe Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $700 billion bill funding reductions in prescription healthcare costs and climate issues, which Congress hopes will help the overall economy and each family’s economic well-being. The passage of the reconciliation mega-bill gives us hope that Senate and House representatives can and will […]
Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in early 2021 to help cushion the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic and kick-start a recovery from the ensuing economic recession. The act included provisions to improve health care affordability, extend unemployment insurance, support small businesses, and increase tax credits for families. ARPA added desperately needed supports […]
After-Pregnancy Coverage, the new program won by advocates in 2021 to expand Medicaid coverage after pregnancy, is now available. The program will help thousands of Washingtonians gain access to coverage during a critical time and help address our state’s maternal health crisis. Who is eligible and what does it cover? Starting this month, if you […]
We’re a major step closer to a stronger and more equitable recovery from COVID with the passage of Build Back Better through the House in Congress. Build Back Better makes important investments in America’s people and families that will build up health and economic security both for those who have been most devastated by the […]
Texans woke up last week with their abortion rights stripped away, after the Supreme Court refused to block a law prohibiting most abortions in the state. Senate Bill 8 bans abortions taking place after 6 weeks of pregnancy, which account for 85 to 90 percent of abortions. This ban will be enforced not by the state, but by the public. Citizens […]
As many as 33,000 child care workers in Washington will soon be eligible to enroll in a premium-free health insurance program through the Health Benefit Exchange. Recognizing the urgent need to help child care workers access affordable health insurance during the pandemic, the Washington State Legislature created a new program in the 2021 legislative session […]
The U.S. Congress is working out the details of a Human and Care Infrastructure package that will make major investments in childcare and pre-K access, long-term care, paid family and medical leave, health care, college affordability, and other essential family economic security needs, all paid for with increased taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations. These […]
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress in March was the most significant advancement in health care affordability since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Over a million previously uninsured people will have access to care and Americans will save millions of dollars in health care expenses. But what does this mean for you? If you are uninsured, you can purchase health coverage for as […]
Reproductive rights are tied to everything. Economic security, health care, race, gender, and human rights. Considering reproductive health to be separate from all other health care and ignoring the ways reproductive health impacts physical and economic wellbeing is sexist, classist, and racist. If we are to celebrate women and all people with uteruses this month, we must ensure that everyone has what they need to exercise basic bodily autonomy and […]
For PDF, click here. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the health care affordability crisis. People who must buy on the individual market through the Health Benefit Exchange can spend up to one-third of their income just on health insurance.[1] High costs push half of new enrollees on our state’s Exchange to purchase plans that seem […]
Access to health insurance is critical for keeping new parents and children healthy, especially during the first year of a baby’s life. But Washington’s Apple Health for Pregnant Women program cuts off health coverage at around 60 days postpartum, leaving over 10,000 low-income women and birthing parents* without health insurance during a critical and precarious time. Extending Postpartum […]
Washington State’s legislators face enormous challenges in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism and economic recession. They also have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild our economy so that it better promotes shared prosperity, healthy communities, and opportunity for all Washingtonians. This toolkit will help us rebuild our state so that we come out of […]
Access to affordable, high-quality health care is a cornerstone of building thriving communities. Without it, we can’t erase health, economic, racial, and gender inequities in Washington, or flatten the COVID-19 curve. Health Coverage in Washington We have a patchwork system of health insurance based on employment, age, and income that results in many gaps in […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing wage inequality, as those workers who are younger, earning low to moderate wages, or without a four-year college degree have taken the brunt of unprecedented job losses. The pandemic has significantly impacted nearly all local economies, but unemployment has hit hardest in the Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula […]
Hold on to your hats. Washington’s revenue forecast is not pretty. We’re facing a $9 billion budget gap over the next three years. The forecast, released by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council on June 17, portrays a dismal, if not unexpected picture of our state’s financial well-being. The forecast comes at a […]
If legislators convene for a special session this summer, they’ll face an unprecedented economic and health crisis – and a stark choice: either raise new revenue from those who continue to prosper, or enact steep budget cuts that will worsen suffering and prolong the recession. Their decisions will signal who, and what, they care about […]
For a PDF, click here. From 2009 through 2012, Washington’s Legislature made policy-level spending cuts totaling $13.2 billion. They avoided even deeper cuts by modestly increasing revenues and transferring from other funds. Washington also received about $4 billion in federal stimulus funds over three biennia (2007-2013).[1] The austerity approach: caused significant, long-lasting harm to individuals […]
For a PDF, click here. In the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, state and local policy makers need new and better fiscal tools to protect Washington residents and prevent a long and deep recession. Public health needs are escalating, more people are turning to public services to cover basic necessities, and businesses will need help to reopen […]
While some people are practicing social distancing by lounging in their multi-million vacation homes, others continue to work on the front lines risking their health and safety. Those at the front-lines are primarily people of Color. These are volatile, minimum-wage positions, and people with no option but to stay at work. While those with higher incomes, […]
Last week, it seemed that billionaires might step up and come to the rescue. Jack Dorsey, who founded Twitter and Square, donated $1 billion, amounting to 28 percent of his wealth, to relief programs related to the novel coronavirus. But what about the richest man in the world, clocking in at $123 billion and growing? […]