SB 6469-S - DIGEST
(DIGEST OF PROPOSED 1ST SUBSTITUTE)

Requires that, by December 1, 2006, the blue ribbon commission on health care cost and access shall develop a sustainable five-year plan to substantially improve access to affordable health care for all Washington residents. The plan shall: (1) Be based on explicit, measurable goals reflecting a realistic assessment of the current status of Washington's health care system, the medical treatment and services to which all Washington residents should have access, and the financial and other resources available to provide them;

(2) Identify the most significant factors contributing to increasingly inaccessible and unaffordable health care and health care insurance in Washington state;

(3) Include a list of strategies prioritized by their likelihood to cost-effectively address these factors and achieve the identified goals;

(4) Identify what must be done, by whom, and by when to assure implementation of each of the listed strategies, including any necessary changes in statute or administrative rule;

(5) Estimate the cost to the responsible party of implementing the listed strategies;

(6) Build a foundation for subsequent long-term plans to assure on-going access for all Washington residents to affordable health care.

Provides that the act shall be null and void if appropriations are not approved.