Legislative Advocacy: You Can Help

Hospitals throughout Washington state continually face serious budget challenges. Some of the reasons for the industry's current financial difficulty include:

• Declining reimbursements for hospital service
• Rising costs of labor, technology and supplies
• Aging baby boomer population

Through legislative-advocacy efforts at Swedish, we're working hard to obtain fair reimbursements for health care providers and greater access to health care services for the under-served.

You can take an active role in helping to solve the health care crisis by educating yourself about current issues facing the industry and asking your state representative to put more money back into health care.

Here are some resources where you can learn how to make a difference:

•  Washington State Hospital Association - Find the latest news about health-care issues and learn how you can participate in the political process
• Washington State Legislature - Find information about pending health care legislation
• Washington State Legislature Representative Search - Look up district maps and contact information for your local state legislative representatives

For more on Swedish's legislative advocacy efforts, contact Dan Dixon.