Q&A: Representative Eileen Cody on the 2021 session Sydney Kurle | Apr 28, 2021
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Representative Eileen Cody was raised on her family’s farm in Iowa. After earning her associate’s and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, Cody began a 40 year career in nursing at Kaiser Permanente in Seattle. In addition to her work at Kaiser Permanente, Cody is a founding member of the District 1199 NW/SEIU Hospital and Health Care Employees Union. First appointed and subsequently elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, Cody has dedicated her legislative career to achieving affordable, quality health care for all residents of Washington State.
WSHA calls on Inslee to veto section of public option bill Emily Boerger | Apr 29, 2021
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In a letter sent to Governor Jay Inslee’s office on Tuesday evening, the Washington State Hospital Association called on the governor to veto a portion of recently passed legislation that would require certain hospitals to contract with at least one public option plan in the state.
The bill, SB 5377, includes a broad range of new provisions aimed at increasing the affordability of standardized plans on the individual market. Specifically, the bill establishes a state premium assistance program for certain individuals purchasing health insurance on the state exchange. The bill also directs public option plans to submit cost and quality data to the Health Care Authority.
1. Rep. Eileen Cody, session in review
Washington’s 2021 legislative session wrapped up over the weekend, concluding what was an impressive session for progressives. We caught up with Rep. Eileen Cody, Chair of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee, to get her take on the health policy themes that emerged this session.
Cody says health equity, the COVID-19 response, and public health were some of the top issues in the health care sphere. She also described Sen. David Frockt’s Cascade Care bill as one of the biggest health policy bills to move forward this year (more on that below). As it relates to the budget, she says funding for mental health and substance use disorder were probably the biggest adds, along with public health support and funding for exchange subsidies. “I would say that there wasn’t a lot of glitz to the things that happened in health care this year, but certainly it got a huge infusion of money.”
Credit Doug Nadvornick/SPR
Several public health agencies in Washington and Idaho say they are going back to administering the Johnson and Johnson Covid vaccine after getting the go-ahead from the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC has advised that the risks of developing serious blood clots as a result of the shot are less than the risks of not receiving a shot.
“Up to 50% of people admitted to the hospital with Covid, if they were to get a CT scan looking for a clot, will have it. So it’s a real risk of getting Covid as well. Again, Covid is far worse than any of these other risks, said Dr. Chris Baliga, an infectious disease specialist at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle.
Spike in fourth wave COVID-19 hospitalizations hits Pacific Northwest
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A flag bearing the hashtag We Got This Seattle flies from the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, on March 26, 2020. File photo by Stephen Brashear/EPA-EFE
April 26 (UPI) COVID-19 surges in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon prompted state and local officials on Monday to warn of dangers to younger people and new lockdown restrictions.
The number of people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in Washington has nearly doubled in the past month to around 600, a state hospital association official said, while in Oregon a similar spike is poised to trigger new restrictions on restaurants and gyms.