Dino On Health Care:

Claim: State Senator Rossi voted against a Patient Bill of Rights.

Fact: Dino voted in favor of an improved Patient Bill of Rights in 2000, which passed the Senate 45-1 and was signed by Governor Locke.

 The Seattle Times Editorial Board was even critical of the weak Patient Bill of Rights legislation in 1999, the year Dino voted against such legislation.

Claim: State Senator Rossi voted against letting the state negotiate for lower prescription drugs.

Fact: Dino voted in favor of SB 5904, a bill to lower prescription drugs costs that received bipartisan support. The bill directed the health care authority to implement a program to negotiate with prescription drug manufacturers for price discounts and increased public awareness regarding the safe and cost-effective use of prescription drugs.

Claim: State Senator Rossi wrote a budget that eliminated health care coverage for 40,000 children.

Fact: The final 2003 budget, which was approved by the Democratic controlled House and signed by Democrat Governor Gary Locke, did not kick anyone off of health care, except for those who were ineligible for the program.  This allowed more money to be spent where it should be – on the poor and vulnerable who otherwise wouldn’t have access to health care. Dino’s budget provided state-funded health insurance for roughly 4,000 more children than the previous biennium.

Fact : Follow the money on these attacks. There is nothing “independent” about them.

Two of the largest contributors to “Evergreen Progress”, the group behind the ads, are the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Washington Federation of State Employees. Both groups are currently negotiating contracts with Governor Gregoire.

The largest contributor is the Democratic Governors Association.

Fact : Click here to find out Rossi’s plan to improve health care in Washington.

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