State Investments in Health
2007 Legislative Session Update
Highlight
$1.5 Million Approved for Pilot Health Navigator System
The Legislature passed and the Gov. Gregoire approved $1.5 million to create a pilot “health navigator” system to help racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities get quality care. Minorities are at disproportionate risk of receiving poorer health care due to language and cultural barriers. Health navigators will help people through the health care system, ensuring that patients receive high-quality and timely care. $700,000 GF-State, $800,000 Federal Funds
Other Highlights:
Gov. Chris Gregoire and legislators from both political parties worked to fund various investments in health this session. Highlights from this session include new budget and policy initiatives that:
Invest a total of $33.6 million to implement the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission.
Deliver on our promise to provide health insurance for children. Ensures that all children eligible for state health care programs can enroll so that they get care and stay healthy. Expands outreach to inform families that their children can get state health insurance coverage. Covers an additional 38,500 Washington kids. $14.1 million GF-State, $19.9 million Health Services Account, $27.1 million Federal Funds
Prevent and treat disease. Increases testing, education, prevention and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea. $1.9 million GF-State
Expand the Basic Health Plan. Expands access to an additional 3,000 people and makes it easier for foster parents to enroll in the Basic Health Plan. $8.3 million Health Services Account, $1.6 million Other Funds.
Make prescription drugs more affordable. Partners with Oregon to expand the Prescription Drug Consortium, using evidence-based and bulk purchasing strategies that have saved the state $46 million in the past two years and are expected to save an additional $21 million next year in the purchase of prescription drugs. $900,000 Health Services Account
Provide a fair reimbursement for pediatric care. Ensures that children covered by Medicaid get the medical treatment they need by increasing the rates paid for pediatric services. Pays pediatricians at 90 percent of the rates paid for the same services under the State Employee Uniform Medical Plan. Becomes effective January 1, 2008. $8.9 million Health Services Account, $9.9 million Federal Funds
Cover prescription co-pays for seniors on Medicare. Helps seniors and other vulnerable populations who are enrolled in the new Medicare prescription drug program, Part D, to cover the cost of their prescription drugs. $13.2 million GF-State
Better manage chronic illness. Changes chronic care management from focusing on a single disease to addressing multiple, interrelated conditions. Incorporates the concept of a medical home into programs currently assisting patients who struggle with multiple chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma and congestive heart failure. Evaluates the costs and benefits of implementing the medical home model. $1.2 million GF-State, $800,000 Federal Funds
Keep foster kids healthy. Improves care for foster children with a pilot Center for Foster Care Health Services, which provides medical evaluations within 72 hours of a child’s entry into foster care, timely access to medically necessary primary and specialty health services, and a medical home for one-stop coordinated care. $300,000 GF-State, $300,000 Federal Funds
Increase childhood immunizations. Supports routine immunizations and provides new vaccines for rotovirus, which causes childhood diarrhea, the virus associated with cervical cancer, and chicken pox. Maintains Washington’s designation as a “universal vaccination” state by the Centers for Disease Control, protecting all our children from preventable disease. $23 million Health Services Account
Protect the public health. Addresses core public health functions such as investigation of communicable diseases in a timely fashion, public health emergencies, prevention and management of chronic illnesses, promotion of healthy families and environmental health concerns. $20 million Health Services Account
Provide better information for families. Pilots a health care literacy program that gives families the tools they need to make informed decisions about their children’s health, such as when to go to the emergency room and how to take care of common illnesses. Provides grants to local community organizations in a public-private partnership with Johnson & Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson/UCLA Health Care Institute. $400,000 Health Services Account
Expand technology compatibility among providers. Gives patients and providers better access to medical records. Demonstrates health information systems that can talk to each other from anywhere in the state, similar to how consumers access their bank account information. Establishes a public-private partnership to help providers install health information technology systems. $4.2 million Health Services Account, $200,000 Other Funds
Connect state health care facilities with electronic medical records. Develops a strategy to incorporate the use of electronic medical records within state at the Departments of Social and Health Services, Corrections and Veterans Affairs, to ensure that patients and providers have timely and secure access to health information. $1.4 million GF-State
