Leading on Health Care

As a registered nurse, Dawn cares deeply about helping people to get the high quality health care and prescription drugs they need at prices they can afford. She's using her leadership role as Vice-Chair of the House Care Committee to expand access to care, fight for lower prices and costs, and improve patient safety. Here's how:

Working for affordable health coverage

Dawn authored and led into law Washington's new Small Business Health Insurance Partnership to help small businesses insure lower-wage employees.

Dawn is a leading champion of the "Health Coverage For All Kids By 2010" law. We've already expanded health coverage for more than 30,000 children!

Dawn fought successfully for Washington's Mental Health Parity Reforms to improve mental health treatment and reduce costs.

Dawn was the lead sponsor of the 2003 law that expanded Basic Health Plan Coverage to 6,000 displaced workers. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler called it "the most positive piece of health insurance legislation that passed this year" (HB 2797).

Fighting to lower prescription drug prices

Dawn was a leading House supporter of the Prescription Drug Purchasing Consortium, where citizens, businesses and Washington governments can pool their buying power to get lower prices.

Dawn stood up to powerful drug manufacturers by supporting the right of Washingtonians to buy affordable prescription drugs from Canada (HB 1168, HB 1194. We're still trying to get federal approval for Washington's efforts).

When local senior citizens said the federal Medicare prescription drug benefit was too confusing, Dawn brought experts to the 25th District to give free advice on making the best choices for individual needs.

Standing up for patient rights and safety

Federal estimates say that personal medical information technology can save lives and cut total health costs by 10%. Dawn led enactment of the law that will greatly expand this technology for Washington residents (HB 2573).

Dawn played a lead role in the widely acclaimed reforms that will improve patient safety and ease rising insurance costs for doctors (HB 2292).

Dawn helped enact the new law that will ensure statewide respect and privacy protection for patients' final wishes and advance medical directives (HB 2342).