National news:
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- U.S. rushes to change workplace toxin rules -- Political appointees at the Department of Labor are moving with unusual speed to push through in the final months of the Bush administration a rule making it tougher to regulate on-the-job exposure to chemicals.
▪  In today's NY Times -- U.S. offers $1.4 billion farm subsidy concession at trade talks -- The U.S. Trade Representative says Washington is prepared to rewrite elements of its recently passed farm bill to ensure that subsidies to American farmers were limited to $15 billion annually.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Night shift catches on with ports' shippers -- "Offpeak" cargo operations, adopted in 2005 to ease traffic jams, now account for 40% of freight movements in Southern CA. 
▪  In today's NY Times -- A private, blunter Bush declares "Wall Street got drunk" -- Not realizing he was being recorded, Dubya says: “(Wall Street) got drunk, and now it’s got a hangover. The question is, How long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?”
▪  In the NY Times -- Madness and shame (Herbert column) -- The U.S. has shamed itself on George W. Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s watch, and David Addington and others like him were willing to manipulate the law like Silly Putty to give them the legal cover they desired. Americans still have not come to grips with this disastrous stain on the nation’s soul.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008
Join the health care discussion Tuesday, July 29 in Spokane

The Healthy Washington Coalition recently hosted its third in a series of seven important public meetings about the five health care reform proposals that will be considered by state lawmakers. If you live in the Spokane area your chance to participate in this critically important discussion will be Tuesday, July 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 318 S. Cedar St.

Here is an opinion column -- written by WSLC President Rick Bender and Teresita Batayola of International Community Health Services, which appeared in Tuesday's edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer -- describing the outcome of the Healthy Washington Coalition meeting held in Seattle.

Insure everyone in this state

By TERESITA BATAYOLA and RICK BENDER
GUEST COLUMNISTS

Cover everyone. Hands down, uncontested, unequivocal. Nearly 400 Seattleites told us loud and clear that ensuring health care coverage for everyone was their No. 1 priority for health care reform.

They spoke up at the first of seven health care caucuses being organized throughout the state by the Healthy Washington Coalition. Will that be the unifying message that we send to Olympia this fall after we've heard from the rest of the state?

The state Legislature is considering five different options for health care reform. What style and what kind of plan will fit the needs of our state? Between actuarial analyses, community outreach and input from constituents, our Legislature and governor will be asked to decide.

Will we have a single payer, an unregulated insurance system or some other variation that gets the job done? The message from people in the Seattle area is unified and urgent -- the priority is to cover everyone with quality affordable health care.

We represent two of the more than 100 organizations that are a part of the Healthy Washington Coalition -- from health care providers to children's organizations, labor to business and from all parts of the state. We as individuals and as representatives of our respective organizations agree wholeheartedly with the message we heard.

We want everyone in this state covered, regardless of employment status, age, ethnicity or health condition. We want that access to include access to mental, dental and medical health, preventive, specialty, pharmacy and catastrophic care.

While covering everyone was the dominant theme, the other principles for health care reform that were identified as top priorities were: assuring that the cost of health care is affordable, including prescriptions; eliminating disparities in access to health care and in health outcomes based on factors such as income, ethnicity, job status and covering all necessary health care expenses.

Often health care "ends at the neck," forgetting that the mouth and the brain are part of the body. Covering everyone in Washington needs to include mental and dental coverage as a standard set of services. Untreated oral disease can lead to significant long-term health consequences, including adverse pregnancy outcomes, diabetes complications, respiratory and heart disease. Untreated mental health issues are also life threatening and incredibly expensive to treat through the emergency room, not to mention the unneeded loss of the quality of life for the patient.

Coverage isn't the only issue that consumers of health care services face. We need to assure access to people when they need it and in a way that meets their needs. Access to a provider is critical and finding a provider who will take low income or senior patients can often be a big problem. Throughout the state many patients also face language barriers that may exclude them from receiving the care they need.

Legislators will be weighing the needs of many people from different walks of life in the goal of reforming our health care system. It they are successful, Washington can be a leader in the nation for health care, and the return will be obvious in people's personal and work lives.

Nothing lays a better foundation for our state's economic and community strength than a healthy populous.

While a comprehensive solution will not be finalized during the next legislative session, legislators would be wise to heed the overwhelming public support for steps in the right direction in the meantime. They will undoubtedly be faced with tough budget decisions, but health care cuts, which may be tempting, would be disastrous. If the urgency heard in Seattle is representative, people are demanding some relief.

We look forward to hearing what our neighbors in Tacoma, Yakima, Spokane, Bellevue, Everett and Vancouver have to say about what they value most in shaping the health care system.

Many voices will provide an excellent sounding board for our state's leaders to put us on a path to a healthy Washington.

Teresita Batayola is executive director of International Community Health Services. Rick Bender is president of Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. For more information about the remaining Health Care Caucuses go to www.healthywacoalition.org.