The Senate Coalition Caucus released its budget today, and it is overall positive for WSHA’s budget priorities. The budget does not include any cuts to hospital-based clinics and also funds several other important health care priorities, including mental health. For a comprehensive analysis of the health care provisions in the budget, see our Inside Olympia.
The Senate held hearings on Tuesday, will handle amendments today and likely pass the bill this week. We believe the House will release its budget next week and follow a similar pace. Development of common budget is likely to take some time. The next revenue forecast is scheduled for June 15, but that may be moved sooner so that new revenue numbers can be used to determine and pass the budget before the fiscal year begins on July 1. (Andrew Busz, andrewb@wsha.org)