SEATTLE — Representatives from the King County Executive’s federal team, Harborview Medical Center and Public Health - Seattle & King County spoke at Thursday’s King County Board of Health meeting, warning HR1 also known as the One Big Beautiful Act, will come at a drastic cost to communities and public health systems.
“People who lose access to Medicaid, who lose access to behavioral healthcare, don’t simply get better on their own; they end up showing up for county services more often than they would otherwise,” said Mark Ritacco, Senior Policy Advisor with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.
On Oct. 1, an estimated 4,000 lawfully present residents, including refugees, asylum grantees, and survivors of human trafficking, will lose Medicaid eligibility.
“We shouldn’t think this is a problem for just those who are most vulnerable; this is a problem for all Washingtonians and particularly for those in King County,” said Sommer Kleweno Walley, CEO of Harborview Medical Center.
Harborview receives more than $260 million each year in supplemental Medicaid payments, and it projects that funding will drop over the next decade. The hospital estimates $120 million in enrollment-related losses in HR1’s first year alone.
“When hospitals, health systems and clinics close programs - because they can’t afford to keep the doors open anymore - they don’t close them just for Medicaid or just for underinsured or uninsured,” said Kleweno Walley.
The Washington legislature passed HR 2442 and SB 2348, which could use taxes to generate millions of dollars for public health investments and Harborview Medical Center, and King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who is also the King County Board of Health Chair, says King County Council needs to activate these revenue tools.
“This is a public health emergency, and we need to treat it as such,” said Councilmember Mosqueda.
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