Budget Crisis

Budget Update: 4/6/12 - Pass a Fair Budget & Protect the Washington Center for Nursing

Urge the Senate and the Governor to pass Proposed Floor Striking Amendment H-4741.2 to ESHB 2127 NOW!

It is near the end of special session, which means the WA State Legislature spent almost 30 additional days to pass a budget! The Senate is considering the most recent House budget, Proposed Floor Striking Amendment H-4741.2 to Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2127. This budget avoids further cuts to WSNA Budget Priorities (PDF), preserving key health care safety net programs for vulnerable adults, families, and children. This budget also avoids further cuts to public health and higher education.

We applaud the House budget’s approaches to raise new revenues in fair and equity ways: by closing tax loopholes for big banks and tobacco manufacturers.

Special session costs tax payers $10,000 per day. If the legislature does not pass the budget soon, the state will face a second special session.

E-mail your Senators and the Governor now, and urge them to stop the debate on policy issues motivated by partisan agendas. Urge them to avoid wasting more tax payer dollars on yet another special session and pass Proposed Floor Striking Amendment H-4741.2 to ESHB 2127.

Don’t let the WA Center for Nursing be a casualty of partisan gridlock. Urge the Legislature & Governor to pass House Bill 2648 during special session!

Hospitals, nurse specialty organizations, and nurse educators banded together to urge the Legislature to address HB 2648 as an additional matter necessary for the legislature during special session. (Read the Letter of Support (PDF)). This bill removes the expiration date for an additional $5 surcharge imposed on registered nurses and licensed practical nurses without any increase to nursing licenses.

Like many bills, HB 2648 stalled this legislative session due to the budget gridlock. However, the legislature has an opportunity to pass one of the few bills that have true bi-partisan support and bears NO impact to the state budget.

Founded in 2003, the Washington Center for Nursing has made progress in several strategic areas with the goal of developing a nursing workforce that meets the health care needs of Washington residents. If HB 2648 does not pass in 2012, the WCN may be denied grant funding to continue this important work.

Urge the Governor and the Legislature to pass House Bill 2648 before the conclusion of special session!

Budget Update: 3/6/12

Senate Passes Surprise Alternative Budget

Proposed budget will take the state backwards

Until Friday, March 2nd, the House and the Senate responded favorably to the advocacy of WSNA members and other by proposing budgets that:

• Stopped cuts and preserved the health care safety net, including the Basic Health Plan, Disability Lifeline, Apple Health for Kids, and others.
• Minimized cuts to higher education compared to the Governor’s budget.
• Proposed ways to fairly and equitably generate new revenues to sustain health care and higher education for our state such as limiting a tax loophole for first mortgages and modifying a sales tax for renewable energy.

On Friday, March 2nd, the Senate passed a surprise alternative budget by just one vote. The budget that passed did not provide a single opportunity for public input. This budget adds to an already growing list of disappearing and at risk vital public services such as:

• Eliminating state funding for uncompensated hospital care.
• Ends flexible funding in 2013 for local public health.
• Eliminating 93% of state funding for family planning.
• Eliminates medical assistance for more than 15,000 Disability Lifeline clients, many of whom are mentally ill and depend on medications to remain stable ($85.1 million). Many will be forced to receive care while in jail or in the emergency room.
• Eliminates nearly $20 million for Alcohol and Substance Abuse (ADATSA) treatment services. These services help people recover from their addictions and recover their lives.
• Eliminates nearly $30 million for higher education tuition waivers for low income students. The cuts in scholarships and financial aid alone will result in another 5,500 students who will totally lose their tuition and financial aid support.
• Cuts $44 million to K-12 schools.

This budget also includes financially irresponsible maneuvers disguised as “reforms”, such as delaying payments of $133 million for pension plans. This simply pushes added costs into the next budget cycle.

This budget is anything but sustainable or responsible.WSNA will continue to advocate for new, fair and equitable revenue so that our state can continue to invest in the economic growth and health of Washington communities.

Tell the Governor and the Legislature to Vote NO on the Alternative Senate Budget

Tell the Governor and the legislature to support Sen. Murray’s budget. This budget reflects the value of investing in the state’s economic future by continuing to fund health services for our communities and education services. Legislators need to know that we support fair and equitable sources of new revenue.

Budget Update: 2/24/12

Protect Public Health Funding

The Washington House of Representatives released their budget proposal this week and the news is devastating for public health funding. The House budget eliminates all state support for core public health services while setting aside money from the state’s liquor excise tax for local public health districts. The result is a cut of about $9 million from local public health jurisdictions, with no guarantee that counties will be able to make up the difference.

Rich or poor, urban or rural, public health protects everyone in our community from threats like communicable disease and chronic disease. Decreases in staffing levels of public health nurses has already resulted in substandard care. No nursing services means clients are at greater risk for bad health outcomes, even after they receive medical advice. Diseases do not respect county borders. Counties with a less robust tax base deserve as much protection from public health threats as counties that can raise revenue through a local option.

WSNA is working hard to restore funding to public health. We have taken the following actions thus far:

• Julia Weinberg, RN, WSNA President, testified on the budget in the House Ways and Means Committee 2/21 to express our deep concern over the severe cuts to public health.
• As part of the Public Health Roundtable, we have co-signed a letter to lawmakers on the importance of public health funding. Click here to read the letter.(PDF)
• We have rallied other coalitions such as the Health Coalition for Children and Youth, Healthy Washington, and the WA State Labor Council in having them list public health funding as a priority for the State budget.
• As Vice President of the WA State Public Health Association, Anne Piazza, WSNA Assistant Executive Director for Governmental Affairs, is also working to rally the WPHA members and other organizations to take action on this issue.

The Legislature convened a special session in November lasting 30 days. They were tasked with creating a supplemental budget to close a nearly $two billion dollar gap in funding through June 30, 2012. The Governor proposed a preliminary budget that included drastic cuts to critical health programs like the Basic Health Plan, but also released a later budget proposal that included new revenue to offset some of the cuts. WSNA fully supports revenue options that allow this state to have a fair, balanced budget. During special session, WSNA was active in the legislature with members, our staff and lobbying team (see side bar for a list of recent legislative activities).

Unfortunately, very little progress was made the special session with Legislators only agreeing on approximately $500 million in cuts. Now Legislators must close the remaining $1.5 billion budget gap over the 60 days of the regular legislative session. Many organizations, including WSNA, are urging Legislators to pass a revenue package so that we don’t enact another all-cuts budget that continues to shrink the health safety net for some of our most vulnerable populations.

Budget cuts will deny thousands basic health services!

The Governor’s list of programs for elimination or additional cuts include:

• Stop providing adult Medicaid pharmacy benefits for 277,000 clients
• Eliminating Maternity Support Services for 55,000 women with pregnancies at high risk for poor birth outcomes, resulting in expensive hospitalization such as low birth weight or prematurity
• Eliminate the Basic Health Plan, leaving 35,000 low-income individuals unable to access health insurance through employment or the private insurance market. The BHP serves many young, working poor, and elderly. Losing BHP means forfeiting millions of federal health reform dollars beginning in 2014.
• Cut state grants that support charity care for Harborview and University of Washington Medical Centers
• Cut state funds for HIV prevention and eliminate dental coverage for 1,200 HIV positive clients
• Cut key public health services such as disease monitoring and response and reduce or cut health and safety programs such as drinking water monitoring
• Cut mental health, long-term care, and disability services for more than 80,000 individuals and close four state hospital units for 120 mentally ill patients
• Eliminate alcohol and substance abuse treatment and prevention programs for over 55,000 adults
• Cut interpreter services for 70,000 residents in Washington State

Supporting nursing schools guarantees job growth.

By 2020, Washington will be short 30,000 registered nurses. Cutting higher education when 50% of qualified nursing school applicants are turned away for lack of slots exacerbates the nursing shortage.

Even during times of economic boom, the state had a persistent nursing shortage. As the population ages and the health conditions of our residents become more complex, our communities need registered nurses and advanced registered nurse practitioners more than ever before. At the current capacity of Washington nursing schools, we will be short 30,000 RNs by 2030. Cuts to higher education will put us farther behind. Cuts to nursing programs means hurting job growth in health care at a time when people increasingly demand a skilled nursing workforce.

All Cuts Approach Unacceptable.

WSNA is deeply concerned about this deficit and especially about the prospect of still further cuts to vital state healthcare programs and nursing education. We believe that the legislature must solve this new budget crisis through a balanced combination of cuts and revenue increases.

But for legislators to adopt this balanced approach, they must hear – loud and clear – from the voters in their districts. WSNA wants to help make this happen.

Now is the time to take action!

The legislature must close this gap. Take action and tell the Governor and Legislature that:

• Another all-cuts budget hurts our families and jeopardizes economic recovery
• Washington used to be a leader in innovation because we made a deliberate choice to invest in schools, jobs, and safe, healthy communities through public health
• Now more than ever, we need investments in schools, healthcare, public health, and local community services that will create jobs
• It does not make sense to continue to cut the state budget without raising revenue in fair and equitable ways

We need your voice in Olympia to tell Legislators what budget cuts will mean to you and your patients! Please contact WSNA Political Action Coordinate Richard Burton at (206) 575-7979 ext 3019 or rburton@wsna.orgto get involved.

Email Your Legislator