Medical debt is one of the leading reasons for families facing financial crisis. It is unacceptable when that debt should never have been incurred.

Back in February, I wrote to you about how my team investigated and discovered that Providence hospitals, including Swedish, directed employees not to mention the availability of financial assistance, and knowingly referred more than $70 million worth of bills from eligible patients to collections. These illegal actions had huge impacts on thousands of Washingtonians.

This lawsuit got the attention of the New York Times:
 
Because of our lawsuit, Providence is now “reaching out to about 760 patients who qualified for Medicaid but were wrongly billed.” That's a good start, but we are pressing forward with our lawsuit to ensure all Washingtonians harmed by Providence are given access to affordable healthcare.

Will you make a contribution to support my campaign as I stand up and hold healthcare giants accountable to the rule of law?

We know many Washingtonians struggle to pay their healthcare bills. They are afraid to seek the care they need because of unforeseen out-of-pocket costs. Our healthcare system requires significant reform.

That's why, in addition to holding providers and insurance companies accountable to the laws we already have, I worked with the Legislature to expand eligibility for hospital financial assistance in order to improve access to affordable healthcare, and protect families from unexpected hospital bills they cannot afford.

Thanks to this new law, an additional 1 million Washingtonians will have access to substantial discounts on hospital bills. On top of that, free hospital care will be guaranteed to 1 million more Washingtonians.

I will continue to look for ways to increase affordable healthcare and make sure healthcare giants follow the rule of law.

Thank you —
Bob