WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

MEDIA ADVISORY: House to address mental health & health care systems on Monday

“Healthy Washington” bills to be considered on Monday
House focusing on mental health and health care system bills passed out of committees

OLYMPIA – Washington’s health care and mental health system have been the focus of many representatives this year, stemming from stories across the state about the need for improvements. The House of Representatives has been hearing many bills, from how we respond to potentially violent individuals suffering from mental health crises, to how we will approach the long term care problems arising from the retirement of the baby boomer generation. Monday the House will consider up to a dozen bills that address many of these problems.

The House has passed nearly two dozen bills from the Health Care & Wellness and Judiciary committees addressing mental health and healthcare in Washington. One bill receiving national interest is immunization exemptions for children under the “personal exemption” option, introduced by Rep. June Robinson, D-Everett.

“We have a responsibility to protect the public’s health and immunizations are scientifically-proven to work,” said Rep. Robinson. “We need to think about more than just ourselves. By not immunizing our children, we are putting other children at risk, children who cannot receive vaccinations due to medical conditions.”

Other legislation under consideration focus on long term care workers, transparency in health care costs, and how often health insurers deny claims.

“Health care and health insurance should be completely transparent. If consumers know what a procedure costs and when insurers are denying claims, they can be better understand and handle those costs and make informed decisions about their health care,” said Rep. Eileen Cody.

Addressing problems with the broken mental health care system has been a priority for the House in the 2015 session. The first bill passed this year was “Joel’s Law,” named after Joel Reuter who was killed by police after suffering a mental health crisis, which passed the unanimously in January. Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, has sponsored several other bills under consideration; including one to improve access to outpatient treatment and another to reform our state’s mental health evaluation system in prisons.

“Every one of us knows someone who has suffered with a mental health issue,” said Jinkins. “We must have medical professionals who are well- trained and a system that provides quality care, with a wide range of accessible services – regardless of whether patients are suffering from postpartum depression or pneumonia.”

Another tragedy that has drawn statewide attention is that of Sheena Henderson, who died in a murder-suicide committed by her husband, Chris Henderson, who had been spiraling into mental health crises for months leading up to his death. Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, introduced HB 1448 Sheena and Chris Henderson’s Law in order to provide law enforcement officers and mental health provider’s additional tools and guidance in how to handle potentially violent individuals.

“When a loved one is suffering from mental health problems, friends and family are often powerless to ensure that person is getting the care they need,” said Rep. Riccelli. “A broken mental health system failed the Hendersons, and we can’t let this happen again.”