By Bill Lucia | Editor
One way the Legislature saved some money in the state budget this year was by delaying an update to reimbursement rates for assisted living facilities that care for Medicaid patients. Last week, Washington’s leading assisted living organizations filed a lawsuit over the move. The delay is expected to save the state about $21 million in the current two-year budget, but will cost providers around $45 million after accounting for lost federal matching funds.
Also in today’s edition…
The North Cascades Highway reopens.
The Coast Guard decides where to station three new icebreaker ships.
And, the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a case on indefinite immigrant detention.
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By Jake Goldstein-Street
Washington typically raises reimbursement rates in even-numbered years for Medicaid patients in assisted living and adult residential care. Lawmakers inserted language into the budget to skip this year’s increase. The Washington Health Care Association and LeadingAge Washington oppose the maneuver, and their lawsuit argues that the way lawmakers carried it out isn’t allowed. They contend that the delay should have been adopted in standalone legislation, not the budget. They’re asking a judge to declare the move unconstitutional so the reimbursement rate change can go forward. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for October.
Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation completed emergency repairs on State Route 20 and fully reopened the North Cascade Highway on Sunday, June 14. (Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
By Aspen Ford
The North Cascades Highway reopened on Sunday after extensive repairs to damage caused by winter storms and flooding. The state Department of Transportation was aiming to get the road opened by this Friday. State Route 20 is the northernmost route in Washington across the North Cascades. A segment of the road closes every winter, east and west of Washington Pass, due to heavy snowfall. This year matches 1974 for the latest date the route has fully reopened. The extended closure has been a stressor for businesses east of the mountains that depend on summer tourism.
A computer-generated image of an Arctic Security Cutter is seen in this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard in February 2026. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)
By James Brooks
The U.S. Coast Guard will base two new icebreakers in Kodiak, Alaska, and one in Seward, Alaska, it announced last week. The first two ships are expected in Kodiak in 2028, and the third ship is expected in Seward in the early 2030s, said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. The new ships are part of an 11-ship medium icebreaker flotilla approved by Congress last year. The Coast Guard hasn’t yet announced where it will station the other eight ships. Three heavy icebreakers, suitable for work in Antarctica as well as at the North Pole, are planned, with the first under construction. Those three ships were scheduled to be based in Seattle, but a dredging project at the base there has since been scaled back, and there may no longer be room for the vessels.
By Tim Henderson
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to weigh in on whether some immigrants with criminal records can be detained indefinitely. The court accepted Genalo v. Black, a New York case involving a legal immigrant from the Dominican Republic arrested by immigration enforcement after an assault conviction and held for 21 months during deportation proceedings. An appeals court ruling in the case found that an “unreasonably prolonged” detention requires a bond hearing in which the government must show “clear and convincing evidence” that the immigrant would be a flight risk or a danger to the community if released.
ICYMI
WA falls again in national education ranking | by Aspen Ford
State workers head into difficult wage talks | by Jerry Cornfield
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