The Health Policy/Government Relations Committee has been regularly meeting Thursday evenings since the legislative session began January 14, 2019. AAPPN has supported several bills that have come up for public hearing.
Access to Mental Health
Governor’s 2019-21 Budget Priorities
Governor Inslee recently released his budget for 2019-21. Several of the Governor’s budget priorities focus on mental and behavioral health. AAPPN is committed to working with the Governor’s office, the State Legislature, and community stakeholders to expand access to mental health services, advocate for our patients, and represent our profession in Olympia and across Washington […]
Bree Collaborative to consider Volk issue
The Bree Collaborative voted to approve the mental health proviso as one of their topics. This means that the Collaborative will consider the impact of the Volk decision, specifically regarding the Duty to Warn bill—which AAPPN supported—which would have nullified many of the damaging impacts of Volk. The study period will begin in 2019. We […]
Legislative Update: March 2018
The legislature passed its final 2018 supplemental operating budget and adjourned sine die on Thursday, March 8. Throughout the session, AAPPN and its lobbyists worked with several mental health care organizations, including: Volk Clinician/Attorney Workgroup WSNA ARNPs United WPA WSSCSW NAMI The final supplemental budget included funding for mental health access and for addressing the […]
Legislative Update: February 2018
Volk Decision As you no doubt know, Senate Bill 5800, Duty to Warn, did not move out of the Judiciary Committee. Our lobbyists, Melissa Johnson and Jennifer Muhm, along with the lobbyists for the clinical social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and others, have worked with Rep. Jinkins to find an avenue to resolve the issue. The […]
Legislative Update: January 2018
Volk Decision Where the Volk bill is: The bill is in the House Judicial Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jinkins. Rep. Jinkins—and the Democratic Party in general—opposes legislative action which would overrule court decisions. Thus, any bill to reverse Volk is probably not going to come out of committee as long as Rep. Jinkins […]