On Wednesday, January 20th, the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee will be hearing public testimony on two bills that Legal Voice is championing in the Legislature:
· Protect Pregnant Patient’s Act, SB5140: Requires medical providers to provide appropriate medical treatment when a patient’s health or life is at serious risk, including miscarriage management.
· Postpartum Medicaid Expansion, SB5068: Expanding Healthcare Coverage from 60 Days to 12 Months Postpartum. Across the state and country, maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high, specifically in BIPOC communities. Extending Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months postpartum is an important step in improving improve maternal health outcomes.
We need a strong show of support for both of these bills. As everything is remote, we need you to sign in in support of these bills. Here are the instructions on how to sign in support:
1. Click here to get to the WA Legislative Website
2. Click on Senate
3. Choose the Health and Long Term Care Committee
4. Choose the following meeting time: 01/20/2021 at 8:00 AM
5. Click on Bill Protecting Pregnant Patients Act SB5140
6. Click on: I would like my position noted for the legislative record
7. Select the PRO position
8. Enter your personal information
9. And then repeat steps 5-8 for Postpartum Medicaid Expansion SB5068
If you have a personal story on how these bills impact you and are interested in providing testimony, please email us at agilepublicaffairs@gmail.com and let us know so we can help prepare you for the committee.
You can also check out this social media toolkit put together by the ACLU of Washington.
We thank you in advance for you support! Together, our voices can bring about some amazing changes in Washington State.
