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Rep. Larry Seaquist, serving the 26th District Serving parts of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, including Port Orchard, Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula, and parts of Bremerton. |
Apple Health for Kids wins House approval
Children’s health program would stay on track in difficult budget year
March 6, 2009
OLYMPIA – As the state moves to provide health insurance to all children
by 2010, the House improved the program that will now be called Apple Health
for Kids. Legislators approved the bill late Friday evening by a vote of 68
to 28.
“This is a year of taking care of the basics,” said Rep. Larry
Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, “and every child deserves the basic right to see a
doctor when they’re sick.”
The state previously set the goal to make
sure all children have health insurance coverage by 2010. This year’s
proposal,
House Bill 2128, will keep the state on track.
“We are keeping
our promise to the children in our state,” said House Speaker Frank Chopp,
D-Seattle. “Our Apple Health for Kids leads the nation in children’s health
care. This means all children in Washington can be healthy and ready to
learn in order to succeed in school.”
In addition to making the name
“Apple Health for Kids” official, it will streamline procedures to enroll
children at lower cost. Seaquist also emphasizes performance measures. “We
need to be sure that this program is working,” he said. “I wrote into this
bill a requirement that we start making sure that our kids’ health is
improving and that we controlling cost to the taxpayer.”
“To rebuild
our economy we have to solve our healthcare crisis,” Seaquist said. “Now is
the time to give working families the peace of mind that they won’t go
bankrupt keeping their kids healthy and strong.”
Apple Health for
Kids now goes to the Senate for consideration.