The final cutoff for the policy committees has now passed, and only a week remains for fiscal committees to finish their work. After that, all our focus will be on passing bills from the floor of the House and finishing the transportation, capital, and operating budgets. There’s still a lot of work to do, but there has also been a lot accomplished so far this session.
College bill
The House Higher Education Committee passed out the Senate version of the WSU-Everett bill with some amendments, and moved action closer to the floor in the coming weeks. The bill is the companion to the bill I sponsored in the House. The Senate bill’s prime sponsor is Senator Mary Margaret Haugen.
National health care reform turns one
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed by Congress in 2010 turned a year old on Wednesday. The Kaiser Family Foundation completed a survey this month that revealed 53 % of Americans remain confused about the law and its provisions.
But one year later, millions of Americans are already reaping the benefits of this landmark legislation, according to Consumer Reports:
- Medicare recipients now receive free preventive care and an annual wellness check-up.
- Provisions are already in place to provide financial assistance to Medicare recipients who reach “doughnut hole” in prescription drug coverage.
- Young adults up to age 26 may remain on family coverage, regardless if they are in school or living at home, providing peace of mind for families all over the nation.
- Small businesses are already eligible for tax credits to offset health care coverage costs for their employees.
Here in Washington, we are also seeing benefit already:
- More than 110,000 small businesses in our state are eligible for that tax credit for helping provide employee health care coverage.
- State taxpayers have saved $287 million, with more savings to come as the federal government continues to increase matching funding for state programs like the Basic Health Plan, the Health Insurance Partnership and Apple Health for Kids.
- In the first five years, national health reform will bring a total of $3.9 billion to Washington state.
Legislators are currently considering a host of bills necessary to further implement ACA. I won’t go into all of them, but here’s a sample:
- Health Benefit Exchange (House Bill 1740 / Senate Bill 5445) This is the first step in achieving coverage for all Washingtonians. The exchange will be established as a public-private partnership, providing access to affordable health care plans with tax credits and subsidies for individuals and small businesses when fully implemented.
- Medicaid Waiver (House Bill 1312 / Senate Bill 5148) Access to a federal Medicaid waiver could spare tens of thousands of vulnerable Washingtonians from losing two essential public services – the Basic Health Plan (BHP) and the Disability Lifeline (DL). Elimination of these two programs would result in increased emergency room visits and more costly care.
- Medicaid single state agency (House Bill 1738 / Senate Bill 5477) Consolidates two agencies into one agency, to better position us to increase the quality and affordability of health care.
You can find much more information about health care in Washington state, its effect on the budget, and what we are doing to transition to ACA in this Budget Brief.
FAST FACT: The average visit to an emergency room costs $5,155. A whole year of Basic Health Plan coverage costs the state $1500.
Free help for electronically filing your federal income taxes
If you haven’t filed your federal income tax, yet, maybe this will help. The IRS has teamed up with 20 tax software providers to offer a free way to electronically prepare and e-file your taxes.
Called Free File, it does the hard work for you with brand-name software or online forms. If you made $58,000 or less in 2010, you are eligible for a free tax software product. If you made more than $58,000 or you are comfortable preparing your own tax return, you can use Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic versions of IRS paper forms.
The software provides a step-by-step guide to get your taxes done quickly and accurately. It helps you get the tax breaks you are due, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. Providers use the latest technology to keep your tax information safe and secure. For information: www.IRS.gov/freefile