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.”