Federal Policy

The Community Health Network of Washington (CHNW) promotes public policies to increase access to health insurance and health care and reduce the number of uninsured people in our state. This year, our focus is on the implementation of the national health care reform legislation that will make affordable health insurance available to everyone and ensure that insurance translates into access to primary care.

Health Care Reform Provides Needed Relief to Washington State
Throughout the health care reform debate, we advocated for comprehensive health care reform and for additional funding to help states contend with rising demand for programs and decreasing revenues. Landmark health care reform legislation was signed into law in March 2010. Reforms will take place over the next four years, but we expect Washington State to benefit this year with the receipt of federal Medicaid funding to help shore up the Basic Health and General Assistance-Unemployable programs. The following populations will benefit from reforms in 2010:

• Seniors – Closing the Medicare “donut” hole will be phased-in between now and 2020. This year, Medicare beneficiaries who reach the coverage gap will receive a $250 rebate.
• Small business employees – Tax credits will be provided to small employers with fewer than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 that provide health insurance for employees. The tax credit will be 35% of the employer’s contribution toward health insurance if certain conditions are met.
• Children and young adults – Beginning September 1, health insurance coverage is made available to unmarried dependents up to the age of 26 and children cannot be denied coverage or treatment due to pre-existing conditions.
• Individuals with pre-existing conditions – By July, federal funding will be added to the state’s high risk pool to lower costs for people with pre-existing conditions to purchase coverage.

Summary of our priorities for health care reform and their outcomes.

2010 Federal Policy Priorities
Following the passage of health care reform, we will work on any technical fixes that appear necessary. In addition, we will continue to advocate for the following two priorities:

• Extend the increased federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for six additional months, through June 2011.
• Delay the Medicare physician rate cut until the sustainable growth rate (SGR) can be repealed with a reform of the Medicare fee-for-service reimbursement system.