(The Center Square) – As the state’s fertility rate continues to fall behind the national level, a bipartisan effort out of Olympia could, if approved, save thousands of dollars for new and expecting parents.
The U.S. fertility rate surpassed that of Washington in 2017 and has continued to outpace the Evergreen State ever since. From around 2008 to 2016, the state largely mirrored the national trend while following one similar to today’s for the two decades prior.
Both the U.S. and state fertility rates hit historic lows in 2023. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national rate fell by 3% to 54.5 last year; meanwhile, according to March for Dimes, Washington dropped by over 3.5% to 51.4 in 2023.
The state’s fertility rate has dropped over 24% since its most recent peak of 68 in 2008; the last time it was that high was in 1990. Both caucuses hope to address this and factors related to affordability with Senate Bill 5075, which would end cost-sharing for maternity services.
“Bottom line: in a state with a growing population and economy, no Washingtonian should face financial barriers to pre- or postnatal care,” Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, wrote in a statement to The Center Square.
Cleveland and Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, proposed SB 5075 so that Washingtonians can focus on their health rather than the price of becoming parents. Both helped push SB 5581 almost two years ago to identify strategies for eliminating prenatal and postnatal healthcare deductibles.
Muzzall told The Center Square that SB 5075 is the fruit of those labors. He said the resulting study from SB 5581 showed them what they already knew: cost-sharing, such as insurance deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, poses a significant barrier to maternity care.
According to the proposal, SB 5075 would prohibit healthcare plans issued or renewed in 2026 and after from imposing cost-sharing on services including, but not limited to, office visits, laboratory services, ultrasounds and other imaging, prenatal screening tests, prescriptions, vitamins, lactation specialists, cesarean section follow-up, and counseling and therapy services.
“This bill removes those barriers and ensures every family can focus on their health,” Muzzall wrote to The Center Square, “not their finances.”
The legislation could save new and expecting parents thousands of dollars. However, like all legislation, the relief comes with a cost. Cleveland isn’t sure how much but said she remains confident that her peers will see the issue as a top priority.
Muzzall, on the other hand, said the impact would only increase health insurance premiums by about 0.1% for prenatal care, which he estimated is $0.52 per member monthly. He said there shouldn’t be any monetary impact on premiums for postnatal services.
“This bill is a bipartisan effort that will require insurance companies to fully cover the broad range of services that lead to higher healthy birth rates and make our state a more attractive place for people to build families and businesses,” Cleveland wrote in her statement.
