RSVP for our Legislative Session Update Call
Join us for a virtual briefing on Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM PST for an update on this year’s state legislative session. LSW President & CEO Marc Cummings will also share insights from his recent meetings in Washington, DC, where he met with our Congressional delegation to discuss key federal issues. Contact Curtis Knapp, LSW’s Public Affairs Manager to RSVP for the call.
340B Manufacturer Mandate Passes Senate
Last Friday, the senate passed SB 5981, the 340B contract pharmacy manufacturer mandate bill, on a party line vote and it is scheduled for a hearing this Friday in the House Health Care Committee.
From the floor speeches by Senator Cleveland and Senator Muzzall, it is clear that the public framing of the bill is about saving hospitals from their budget deficits. Senator Cleveland remarked on the important community role hospitals play, specifically noting UW Medicine’s hundreds of millions of dollars in charity care. Senator Muzzall said that his “no” vote was not a lack of concern for hospitals, but that funding from the 340B program is not the way to solve hospitals’ budget challenges.
Life Science Washington will again testify against the bill at this week’s hearing.
CARE Fund Fix Following Recent Nicotine Tax Changes
In 2025, the governor signed SB 5814, which changes made various changes to tobacco, vape, and other nicotine products, and would have inadvertently shifted funding away from the Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment (CARE Fund). Under the new law, the Department of Revenue now counts any product with nicotine as a tobacco product, whether the nicotine comes from tobacco or a vapor or other nicotine product. Because these products will now be taxed as tobacco products instead of vapor products, the tax revenue will go into the state’s general fund instead of the Public Health Fund and the CARE Fund state match account. This shift could significantly reduce the amount of funding available for cancer research through that program.
Legislators have signaled a desire fix this issue, and several bills have been introduced this year to restore funding for the CARE Fund via taxes from vapor products, including SB 6129, HB 2382, and HB 2439. Each bill is slightly different but would restore the state match account language for the CARE Fund as it existed previously. Because the bills affect state revenue, they are not subject to the typical cutoff deadlines. SB 6129 is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on February 19.