out-of-hospital births in Washington state

(from my inbox)

Please repost this on your blogs, your myspace bulletins and send this information out to anyone you know in Washington state.

The Problem

Midwives pay the highest licensing fee of any healthcare profession. Next year, the fee is likely to be over $3000 for a one year license. By contrast, physicians pay $330, dentists $230, registered nurses $50. The current law says that each healthcare profession must fund its own regulatory affairs at the Department of Health. With only 90 licensed midwives in the state, the burden of supporting a department is huge and growing. As the license fees go up each year, more midwives quit, leaving fewer midwives to pay the fees the next year. If this trend continues, out-of-hospital midwifery will become financially impossible.

The Solution

There is a proposal--House Bill 1667--that is going through the legislative process in Olympia right now. It states that all licensed healthcare professionals will pay a single fee--$125 per year. The fees for certified and registered professionals would be $50 and $30.

This bill offers a permanent, fair solution to the licensing problem. The full text of the bill can be found at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1667&year=2007

How You Can Help

Please call or email your state representatives and state senator and let them know about this issue and help them understand the importance of midwifery to families. Contact from constituents makes a huge difference!

To find out who your state senator/representatives are, go to www.leg.wa.gov.

You can also help by supporting the Midwives Association of Washington State, the group that works tirelessly on many fronts to preserve midwifery. http://www.washingtonmidwives.org/

Thank You!