Washington’s immigrants need health equity now.

Dear Lawmaker:

The undersigned call upon the legislature to support health care for immigrant communities. It is critical that the final 2023-2025 biennium budget, at a minimum, adopts the House’s budget proposal which provides essential funding for immigrant health coverage programs. Washington is stronger when we protect the health and well-being of everyone in our state, including the undocumented members of our communities.

More than 100,000 undocumented immigrants in Washington are uninsured, leading to worse health outcomes and mounting medical debt. Left with no viable option, many people are forced to choose between needed care and other basic necessities.

The House budget proposal creates a pathway towards equitable health coverage. It provides funding for the Cascade Care Exchange program and over $95 million dollars for a Medicaid comparable program for immigrants, with the potential of future additional funding based on need. The House budget will make a meaningful difference to immigrant communities.

As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) demonstrated, expanding Medicaid coverage will:

• Save lives: Studies show that the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid saved lives. Researchers estimate that one life was saved for every 310 newly ACA-covered individuals.
   
• Improve health: Research shows substantial health benefits related to the ACA’s Medicaid expansion including reducing the likelihood of emergency department visits and increasing preventive screenings that can save lives and system costs down the line, such as early cancer diagnoses.
   
• Strengthen state economies and hospitals: Twenty out of 20 studies find positive effects of the ACA Medicaid expansion for state economies. Fourteen out of 14 studies show positive effects for hospitals and other providers.
   
• Lower uncompensated care costs: The White House cited research showing uncompensated care costs fell much more in Medicaid expansion states: by 45% compared to 2% in non-expansion states.

By contrast, the Senate’s budget proposal would perpetuate existing inequities, providing no Medicaid-like program and failing to include sufficient funding to provide meaningful health access to immigrant communities. The “Exchange-only” Senate approach would result in low-income immigrants facing hundreds of dollars in monthly premiums and over $9,000 annually in cost-sharing (and almost $19,000 for families) if they purchase coverage on the Exchange. Further, unlike Medicaid, the Exchange program doesn’t include essential benefits like dental and vision.

We urge the legislature to prioritize the health of all Washingtonians including immigrants who have been systematically excluded from access and opportunity due to discriminatory federal laws. At a minimum the final budget must adopt the House’s proposed budget funding levels and structure for immigrant health coverage programs. Your support is critical to immigrant communities.