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2009 Legislative Session: Devastating cuts to healthcare

The 2009 state legislative session just concluded, leaving us with some huge challenges ahead but also some notable victories.

The Legislature made significant budget cuts over the next two years in healthcare, education and social services. Legislators voted down a tax increase, so cuts were inevitable and we fought to protect vital services as much as possible.

Healthcare cuts total over $1 billion, including major cuts in:

  • Programs like the Basic Health Plan and Healthy Options, which serve low and moderate income people;
  • Payments to hospitals for Medicaid patients and other low-income patients;
  • Outpatient services for children and adults;
  • Community mental health: millions in cuts (Medicaid and non-Medicaid and innovative programs)
  • Chemical dependency treatment services: $15 million in cuts.
  • Reduce 30 beds available at Western State Hospital by 2010.
  • No cost of living increase (COLA) for state employees the next 2 years (this does not include HMC employees).
  • Budget & program cuts in both DSHS & DOH.

 

These cuts will have a profound impact on our patients and our clients. Unemployment in our state is approaching
10% and many families are losing insurance. The state budget cuts will only exacerbate the healthcare crisis for
Washington families as they become unable to access basic healthcare, and will end up in our already-clogged emergency rooms.


Notable Victories
SEIU members can claim some notable victories this session:

  • We prevented more than $30 million in additional hospital cuts.
  • We worked closely with the Washington State Hospital Association and many hospitals and mental health providers to pare back the worst of the cuts.
  • We won $4.5 million in funding for our Healthcare Employee Education and Training initiative, a partnership with our hospitals and community colleges that will provide career ladders for SEIU members.
  • We kept Yakima Valley School open, ensuring that residents and their families will have a choice in care, and protecting 300 jobs in the Yakima Valley.
  • We protected the wage gains community mental health workers  made 2 years ago. The Legislature directed that providers maintain the wages of frontline staff.
  • And, because of our hard work lobbying our legislators in Olympia, state employee healthcare benefits will stay at 88%/12%. This is a victory.However, the legislature only funded our benefits with a 3% inflation rate (as opposed to a 5% inflation rate) which is significantly less than what we need to maintain our benefit plans for the next 2 years.
    The super coalition of state employees’ unions will go back to the table to renegotiate this change.


We are stronger now as a union
In the last 4 months more than 325 members spent at least one day lobbying in Olympia and thousands of members wrote letters, postcards, emails and made phone calls in support of saving the healthcare safety net. We built new political alliances with hospital employers, mental health providers, consumer groups and others.

Congratulations to every one of you who stood up for healthcare in the last 4 months. Your advocacy, along with the new healthcare coalition that is emerging from this legislative session, positions us well for the challenges ahead.