Clark County’s state lawmakers push for variety of health care measures

As the 2026 Washington legislative session reaches its midpoint in Olympia, local lawmakers are hoping to push several health-related bills in the House and Senate that could affect Clark County residents. In the 49th Legislative District, Vancouver Democrats Rep. Sharon Wylie and Rep. Monica Stonier are sponsors on a total of 23 bills in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee. Stonier said the biggest challenges for residents in her district are affordability and access to health insurance plans due to cuts to both Medicare and Medicaid included in President Donald Trump’s spending bill last year. She’s also noticed that access to prenatal care has dropped significantly in her district. “Making sure people are covered is one of the most important things we can do to keep health care affordable for people,” Stonier said. “Driving a wedge too far one way or the other makes health care less affordable for everyone.” Stonier is a primary sponsor of House Bill 2564, which would allow the Washington Health Exchange to assess if plans are meaningfully different in terms of cost-sharing, benefits, premiums, provider networks and quality. The exchange also would determine whether plans are offered by multiple insurers, maximize federal tax credits and efficiently use state investments. “There’s so many plans available that reading through them, they’re so duplicative,” Stonier said. “This would give the exchange the ability to look at all plans across the state and better balance them out so that more people in all parts of the state have access to a variety of plans that are meaningfully different from each other.” ‘Beef up’ the system Wylie, who signed onto House Bill 2242 as a co-sponsor, hopes to “beef up” the health care system with the bill, which focuses on clarifying state authority and insurance coverage mandates. It also seeks to ensure that services recommended by the Washington State Department of Health, such as vaccine policies, remain at the most cost-effective rate. Wylie said the bill is particularly important given recent federal rollbacks in childhood immunization recommendations. “One of the priorities I have going into this session is health care,” Wylie said. “We give more to the federal government than they give back. We’re looking at even more of an imbalance there and trying to figure out, how do we keep as many people covered as possible?” Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia — who represents the 20th Legislative District, which encompasses Amboy, Brush Prairie, La Center, Ridgefield, Hockinson and Fern Prairie — is co-sponsoring one health care-related measure, Senate Bill 5959. This bill aims to clarify an existing law on charity care, which involves free or discounted health services provided to people who meet the criteria for financial assistance and are unable to pay for all or a portion of the service. It limits eligibility for charity care by clearly defining a Washington resident and explicitly states that individuals entering Washington solely for health care are not considered residents for charity care purposes. Immigration status cannot be a factor in determining residency for charity care eligibility. Braun hopes the bill advances to close a “loophole” that out-of-state residents may have been using to receive charity care. “It’s created pressure on our health care systems,” Braun said. “My focus is in making sure small and rural hospitals stay whole.” A stark fiscal reality Washington has experienced financial challenges from falling revenue, rising costs and federal cuts from the Trump administration. The state is facing another $1.6 billion shortfall in its supplemental budget. In December, Gov. Bob Ferguson said state agencies submitted $2 billion in requests, but his budget could fund only $700 million of those requests, causing him to dip into rainy-day funds and look for alternative funding options. Local lawmakers say they are feeling the budget pinch during the legislative session. “That has definitely been at the back of most of my colleagues’ minds, as well as mine,” said Sen. Adrian Cortes, D-Battle Ground, whose 18th Legislative District also covers Felida, Salmon Creek, Hazel Dell, Orchards, Brush Prairie, Mount Vista and Barberton. One measure that Cortes is hoping to advance is Senate Bill 5823, which does not seek any funding. It would require hospitals to have patient advocates available on site every day for 24 hours by Jan. 1, 2027. The advocate’s role is to assist patients in navigating the health care system. Cortes said he was inspired to draft the bill after several residents in his district told him the health care process was overwhelming and confusing. “They came to me with personal stories of either family members or friends being in a medical facility and it being very hard to navigate and not user-friendly,” Cortes said. “That patient advocate will help patients navigate everything about a complex health care system by acting as a liaison between them and their doctor or the insurance company or the hospital itself.” Cortes also is a sponsor of five other health-related bills.

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