Spokane County commissioner urges state fix for Maddie’s Place, warns of public‑health funding cuts
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Summary
In a monthly update, Spokane County Commissioner Amber Waldrep said she lobbied in Olympia for a Medicaid change to support Maddie's Place, expressed concern that proposed state cuts could strip "millions" from the Spokane Regional Health District, and said she sponsored two resolutions urging the state to keep funding essential public‑health services.
Spokane County Commissioner Amber Waldrep said she spent recent weeks pressing state lawmakers to address county priorities, including a proposed Medicaid change to support Maddie's Place and measures to protect local public‑health funding.
"Including finding a Medicaid fix to support Maddie's place," Waldrep said, describing an interview with a state senator and her testimony in Olympia on a bill to change state health rules so the Spokane facility could receive Medicaid funding for infants exposed to opioids and their families.
Waldrep told listeners she is "very concerned about cuts to public health funding," warning that proposed state changes could mean "millions in reduced revenue to our Spokane Regional Health District," a shortfall she said could reduce programs and services that protect community health and prevent disease spread.
To press the point, Waldrep said she brought forward two resolutions — to the Spokane Regional Health District and to the Board of County Commissioners — that passed unanimously and called on the state to maintain funding for essential public‑health services.
Waldrep also noted other local work: she recorded a KSPS podcast with City Councilman Paul Dillon and Mary Miller of Greater Spokane Incorporated, attended a two‑day Olympia visit with Commissioner Chris Jordan and county staff to meet legislators and the governor's staff, and marked the opening of Vets on Lacey, a veteran housing development supported by Volunteers of America.
She said she met with the Governor's Council on Homelessness, met Washington State University President Cantwell, and attended a Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally. Waldrep closed by directing listeners to her newsletter for links and more information and said she will report back next month.
The county did not provide further details on the text of the bill she testified on, the legislative sponsor's office did not appear in the briefing, and the resolutions passed unanimously but the vote tallies were not specified in the update.