Latest news with #WashingtonImmigrantSolidarityNetwork
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
WA health care expansion for low-income immigrants on track to be maintained
Hundreds of people marched to the steps of the Washington state Capitol in Olympia as part of an immigrant rights rally on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard) Washington began to offer Medicaid-like health care coverage last year for thousands of low-income immigrants living in the state without legal status. Now, with talks over the next two-year state budget in their final stages, lawmakers are looking to maintain the expansion. But enrollment in the program remains capped based on available funding and legislators are not on track to change that this year. Rep. My-Linh Thai, D-Bellevue, introduced a bill early in the session that would have opened the program to all immigrants who meet the income eligibility guidelines and other requirements. Her bill, which would have created additional costs for the state at a time when lawmakers are trying to solve a budget shortfall, never got a hearing. Thai also said there was controversy about language referring to noncitizens as 'Washingtonians.' 'We cannot just keep paying for emergency room visits, no coverage,' said Thai. 'Charity can only extend for so much, right? I mean, this is responsible governing.' Federal law largely prevents noncitizens from accessing benefits through Medicaid, but states can use state dollars to create programs for this population. Medicaid, known as Apple Health in Washington, provides health care coverage to people with lower incomes. In Washington, about 1.8 million residents are covered by Medicaid or the related Children's Health Insurance Program. On July 1, 2024, Washington launched a program to offer Apple Health benefits to immigrants in the U.S. without legal authorization who meet certain eligibility guidelines. But the program, which is designed to mirror Medicaid, only had enough funding to cover up to 13,000 people. Within the first 48 hours, all slots were filled, and an additional 17,000 people signed up to be on the waiting list, according to Sasha Wasserstrom, policy director at the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. Funding for the program is currently around $76.8 million a year. House-approved budget legislation would provide funding in line with that amount. The Senate's operating budget bill would commit less — $67.5 million and $64.6 million in the next two fiscal years. But the Senate plan banks on changes that would achieve savings in costs for care. The Apple Health Expansion program, as it's known, operates only using state funds, as opposed to the traditional Medicaid program, which relies on a combination of federal and state dollars. Advocates say that since the expansion took place, people have been able to access cancer and dialysis treatments that have extended their lives. 'It sounds so extreme, but it's genuine, that people will die as a result of not receiving health care access,' said Kaitie Dong, a policy analyst at the Washington State Budget and Policy Center. Republicans argue that the state needs to be careful with its spending during a year with a substantial budget deficit and that the state shouldn't be giving services to people who are noncitizens while cutting services for others. 'We should have compassion, but we should also make sure we follow the rule of law,' said Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia. In Washington, immigrants without legal authorization to work in the U.S. contributed nearly $1 billion to state and local taxes in 2022, according to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. 'The dominant narrative is that people don't believe that undocumented immigrants pay taxes, but they're actually some of our greatest tax contributors and economic drivers,' Dong said. Expanding health care coverage to noncitizens can also save the state money by reducing emergency medical care costs, said Wasserstrom. 'We know that providing preventative medical care is more beneficial to the individual and to the system as a whole, and that causes less strain on the system as a whole,' they added. Federal law requires emergency rooms to treat people regardless of immigration status. But a lack of health insurance often leads to people waiting until their health concerns worsen to seek care, and they then end up in the emergency room. This can contribute to emergency rooms becoming overwhelmed. 'It's hard to actually see emergencies when you're really stuck seeing people who can't access primary care because they don't have insurance or feel safe,' said Dr. Shaquita Bell, a pediatrician and director at Odessa Brown Children's Clinic in Seattle. At the clinic where Bell works, some of her patients have parents who lack legal status. During her time as a pediatrician, there have been instances where a parent has expressed their own health care concerns. When this happens, she will either connect them with a social worker who will help them or if someone's in urgent need of care, she will try to help. Advocates hope that the funding cap for the Apple Health program is removed so that anyone who qualifies, regardless of their immigration status, can have access. 'Caring for immigrants helps everyone, and it's the right thing to do,' Bell said. 'These are people, and every person deserves health care.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds of immigrants rally at Washington state Capitol
People shouted "si se puede" or "yes we can" on the Washington state Capitol steps during an immigrants' rights rally on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard) Despite threats that immigration enforcement agents might show up, more than 500 immigrant rights advocates from across Washington marched to the state Capitol in Olympia on Thursday. They were there to show support for two bills pending before the Legislature this year that would expand safety net benefits — including health care coverage and unemployment insurance — for immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization. The demonstration also came as President Donald Trump, now about 10 days into his new term, has announced a range of policies to strike against immigrants. The march and rally were led by the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, an immigrant rights coalition founded in 2016 when Trump was elected to his first term. 'We are more organized, we are stronger, and we have been building for another moment like 2016,' Brenda Rodriguez Lopez, executive director of the group, said in an interview. Since its founding, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network has established a deportation defense hotline, expanded its coalition, and pushed for state-level policies to help immigrants. 'Now that we're here, we're able to respond more quickly, and we have a lot more processes in place that allow for our work to reach more community members,' Rodriguez Lopez said. The group's hotline takes in reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stops, detentions, and raids, provides people with know-your-rights information and connects them with resources for legal support. Since Trump took office, they've received over 400 calls daily, said Rodriguez Lopez. U.S. law prevents federal funds from going to non-citizens but states can create their own programs to support this population. Washington last year began an expansion of its Medicaid program, known as Apple Health, to cover people who do not meet the federal immigration requirements for Medicaid assistance. But due to limited funding, the number of people who could enroll was capped. This year, House Bill 1482, sponsored by Rep. My-Linh Thai, D-Bellevue, intends to increase health coverage for immigrants by bolstering the previous expansion. In Washington, there are an estimated 246,000 immigrants without legal status, half of whom are uninsured and live below 200% of the federal poverty level, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Thai's bill has received criticism from Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn. He created a poll on the social media platform X to ask his followers whether Washington should fund a health care program for 'illegal immigrants' or save that money for better access to health care for Washington citizens. Democrats frame the tradeoffs differently. 'To those elected officials who say that state dollars cannot go to our immigrant and refugee community, I tell them, look around, they're your neighbors,' said Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo. 'They pay taxes, they pay money, they contribute, and they deserve every single basic right that we have. We are not talking about status, we are talking about humanity.' Meanwhile, Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, is sponsoring Senate Bill 5626, which would expand unemployment insurance for immigrants without legal work authorization. At the rally, Rep. Julio Cortes, D-Everett, announced he was dropping a House companion bill. 'We truly are building a world that doesn't exist for our people yet, but we are making progress, and so, no matter who's president, our communities will continue to organize,' Rodriguez Lopez said.
