WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.700 Oh, I love that smell. Right? But I don't think 00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:04.620 it smells like that. I think it smells like Lucky 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:07.820 Charms. Okay. That's what I'm going with. It 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:10.339 tastes like Lucky Charms. It does. I mean, if 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:14.400 you went out and licked a rainbow. You don't 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:16.780 think it would taste like pennies or like gold? 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:24.289 I don't know. Welcome to County Connection. the 00:00:24.289 --> 00:00:26.370 official podcast of the Washington State Association 00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:28.809 of Counties, where we dive into the legislative 00:00:28.809 --> 00:00:30.850 issues shaping the future of our communities. 00:00:31.129 --> 00:00:33.289 From budgets to public safety, infrastructure 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:36.229 to elections, we'll break down what's happening 00:00:36.229 --> 00:00:39.009 in Olympia and how it impacts counties from across 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:42.130 the Evergreen State. Stay informed, stay engaged, 00:00:42.250 --> 00:00:45.109 and join us as we amplify the voice of Washington's 00:00:45.109 --> 00:00:49.740 39 counties. All right, welcome everybody to 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:52.000 the County Connection podcast. I'm Paul Jewell, 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.359 the Washington State Association of Counties 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:57.439 Government Relations Director and your host on 00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:59.539 the County Connection podcast. We're back in 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:02.439 the studio and we're here again with Jamie Bodden, 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:05.140 the Washington State Association of Local Public 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:08.859 Health Officials Managing Director. Jamie, it's 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:12.560 Wednesday and more importantly, it's cutoff day. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:15.840 Happy Cutoff Day. Happy Cutoff Day, or as I like 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:19.340 to call it, Happy Bill Death Day. Oh, in memoriam. 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:23.180 In memoriam. You know, I was thinking, do you 00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:25.060 remember the LSC meeting we had a couple of weeks 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:29.000 ago? Commissioner Rolfes was talking about how 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.400 part of what we were talking about felt like 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:34.540 the Hunger Games. I kind of felt like we could 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:36.420 do that with legislative districts. Like, this 00:01:36.420 --> 00:01:38.500 was a good bill from, you know, so -and -so with 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:43.209 legislative district number 15. Kind of do a 00:01:43.209 --> 00:01:46.530 whole Hunger Games theme. A tribute to those 00:01:46.530 --> 00:01:50.129 that have fallen. Yeah, exactly. It is a fun 00:01:50.129 --> 00:01:53.870 day. It's a stressful week because you want certain 00:01:53.870 --> 00:01:56.329 things to survive, but it's also really great 00:01:56.329 --> 00:01:59.329 when your plate gets a little bit less chaotic. 00:01:59.489 --> 00:02:01.530 There are certain things that we want to survive, 00:02:01.769 --> 00:02:03.730 but there are other things that we want to say 00:02:03.730 --> 00:02:06.609 goodbye to as well. And today is definitely a 00:02:06.609 --> 00:02:08.669 big day for that. And we're going to get a chance 00:02:08.669 --> 00:02:11.560 to talk about that maybe in... future podcasts 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:13.360 because we still don't know what the results 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:17.020 are because it's still early on cutoff day. But 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:20.199 you just got back from Washington, D .C. I had 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:22.479 a podcast just a couple of days ago with a couple 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:24.620 of county commissioners that also just got back 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:27.539 from Washington, D .C. But they were there for 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:29.360 a different purpose than you. Why were you back 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:32.639 there? Yeah, so Wasilvo goes to D .C. every year 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:38.159 as... part of NACCHO, which is the National Association 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:41.080 of City and County Health Officials. Not to be 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:44.560 confused with the delicious nachos that we might 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:47.979 eat. They missed an opportunity with that acronym. 00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:51.599 I know, they did. But NACCHO is our national 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:54.599 association, so WSALFO is our state affiliate 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:57.979 for that. And every year they do a leadership 00:02:57.979 --> 00:03:00.960 week with my counterparts from across the country. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:04.099 We meet and discuss on different public health 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:07.750 issues. going on in our states, what's going 00:03:07.750 --> 00:03:10.930 on federally, just a chance to network, share 00:03:10.930 --> 00:03:14.069 best practices, learn from each other. And then 00:03:14.069 --> 00:03:16.969 the culmination of that meeting is Hill Days. 00:03:17.129 --> 00:03:20.129 So we actually get to meet with our congressional 00:03:20.129 --> 00:03:22.750 and Senate delegations from our states as well. 00:03:22.810 --> 00:03:25.110 So taking advantage of our time in D .C. So this 00:03:25.110 --> 00:03:27.189 is something that you do every year. Yes. And 00:03:27.189 --> 00:03:30.650 it's basically your counterparts from across 00:03:30.650 --> 00:03:34.490 the country. Yes, we have of the 50. states i 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:37.949 think we have like 32 um what are called sachos 00:03:37.949 --> 00:03:41.229 or state associations okay um and so they'll 00:03:41.229 --> 00:03:44.689 be um i'll get to sit with utah i'll get to sit 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:48.949 with minnesota nebraska oh north carolina you 00:03:48.949 --> 00:03:51.990 say minnesota nebraska that that uh wisconsin 00:03:51.990 --> 00:03:54.530 accent my midwest comes out a little bit yeah 00:03:54.530 --> 00:03:57.090 yeah um and it's it's always interesting because 00:03:57.090 --> 00:03:59.509 public health particularly local public health 00:03:59.509 --> 00:04:02.550 is implemented so differently across our country 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:04.960 and so you talk to somebody like Massachusetts 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:08.479 that has over 300 local health departments in 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.680 their state. And then you talk to somebody like 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:13.800 Arizona and they have six. So it's really interesting 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.209 to get kind of that. glimpse of just the differences, 00:04:17.250 --> 00:04:19.189 but also a lot of the similarities that we share. 00:04:19.350 --> 00:04:23.029 The same is true with county commissioners. When 00:04:23.029 --> 00:04:26.290 you compare, say, Western county commissioners, 00:04:26.290 --> 00:04:29.829 meaning the Western states versus kind of Midwestern 00:04:29.829 --> 00:04:32.389 or Eastern, they're very different. Their roles 00:04:32.389 --> 00:04:34.410 are really different. In fact, not all of them 00:04:34.410 --> 00:04:35.990 are called county commissioners. Some are county 00:04:35.990 --> 00:04:38.410 judges or county supervisors, and they have a 00:04:38.410 --> 00:04:40.350 few other names. And some states don't even have 00:04:40.350 --> 00:04:42.709 counties, they have boroughs, right? So it's 00:04:42.709 --> 00:04:44.910 really interesting to kind of compare. and contrast 00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:47.870 the roles, think about what it might be like 00:04:47.870 --> 00:04:50.889 to have that role. There are many roles that 00:04:50.889 --> 00:04:53.329 some county commissioners have in other parts 00:04:53.329 --> 00:04:55.949 of the country that I'm so glad that our county 00:04:55.949 --> 00:04:58.209 commissioners don't have. I would have never 00:04:58.209 --> 00:05:01.730 wanted to have that role as a county commissioner, 00:05:01.870 --> 00:05:03.310 but there are others that you go, oh, that's 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:05.810 kind of interesting. I wish we had the opportunity 00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:08.189 to work in that area as well. I'm sure you find 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:10.110 the same thing. Yeah, that was one of my local 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:12.069 government culture shocks when I moved out to 00:05:12.069 --> 00:05:14.589 Washington State coming from. wisconsin and working 00:05:14.589 --> 00:05:17.389 in county government in wisconsin i had 27 county 00:05:17.389 --> 00:05:19.790 commissioners or county supervisors as we called 00:05:19.790 --> 00:05:23.129 them um in my county that i worked with just 00:05:23.129 --> 00:05:27.230 in your county just in my county 27 um and so 00:05:27.230 --> 00:05:30.449 coming to washington and there's three um was 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:33.899 like but But what about, you know, they do all 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:37.399 the job of 27. And it was really interesting 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:39.720 to kind of learn that difference and understand 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:41.399 that nuance a little bit more. Well, and the 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:43.740 counties in this part of the country are really 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:46.560 big, too, compared to other parts of the country. 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:48.899 I don't know how big they are in Wisconsin, but 00:05:48.899 --> 00:05:50.939 you certainly get into the eastern parts of the 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:53.279 country and, you know, like Ohio and Pennsylvania, 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:55.800 even though they're smaller states, they'll have. 00:05:56.269 --> 00:05:59.050 you know, 150 counties versus our 39, something 00:05:59.050 --> 00:06:00.910 like that. So there's, they, they break them 00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:04.100 up into smaller jurisdictions. What were the 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:06.459 big issues that you guys talked about when you 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:08.040 were back in D .C.? Yeah. I mean, there's a lot 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:11.319 going on there. A lot going on. I just had Commissioner 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:14.519 Osias and Commissioner Eisenhower in here kind 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.060 of reflecting on their experience. And obviously 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:18.720 they had some major issues, but they weren't 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:21.060 really focused on public health other than maybe 00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:22.800 Medicaid. Was that something you guys talked 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:24.600 about a lot as well? Yeah. So when we did our 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:26.819 federal visits, we kind of focused on three big 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:30.680 topics when we met with our congressional delegation 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:34.910 and then also our two – federal senators. We 00:06:34.910 --> 00:06:36.709 talked about public health funding kind of at 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:40.689 large. One of the things that public health does 00:06:40.689 --> 00:06:43.870 is we get about, on average, about 40 % of local 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:46.629 health department budgets come from the federal 00:06:46.629 --> 00:06:49.089 government. That fluctuates depending on the 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:54.009 LHJ. But on average, about 40 % of local health 00:06:54.009 --> 00:06:58.069 department budgets are comprised of federal grants. 00:06:58.230 --> 00:06:59.970 So that could be something like the Maternal 00:06:59.970 --> 00:07:03.040 Child Health Block Grant. which obviously funds 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.839 maternal child health programming. It could be. 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:09.959 Something that's more categorical, like the Ryan 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:14.420 White HIV grant, which funds local HIV prevention 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:17.819 case management treatment work in our state, 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:20.800 which is really, really critical. It could be 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:23.000 something like our prevention preparedness grant, 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:27.019 which funds our readiness and public health preparedness 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:30.300 and response activities around flooding, wildfire, 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:32.600 smoke, disease outbreaks, that kind of thing. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:35.920 So just maintaining that public health funding, 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.920 which is really important. really, really critical. 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:41.420 It's a lot of what anchors and we build a lot 00:07:41.420 --> 00:07:43.740 of our other programs around. Maternal Child 00:07:43.740 --> 00:07:45.839 Health Block Grant has been around for decades, 00:07:45.980 --> 00:07:48.899 for example. Our WIC program, another really 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:52.360 critical federal grant that serves our families, 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:55.740 that's longstanding. So one of our talking points 00:07:55.740 --> 00:07:59.350 was just... you know, showcasing the many grants 00:07:59.350 --> 00:08:01.810 that we might receive at the local level, describing 00:08:01.810 --> 00:08:05.790 their importance and really advocating to maintain 00:08:05.790 --> 00:08:07.490 that critical funding that we get. There's been 00:08:07.490 --> 00:08:11.189 a lot of talk about cuts, both here at the state 00:08:11.189 --> 00:08:15.689 level and at the federal level. I think the federal 00:08:15.689 --> 00:08:17.670 level, they were looking to cut about $3 trillion 00:08:17.670 --> 00:08:21.069 out of the federal budget. There's been all kinds 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:24.199 of... kind of rhetoric and rumors going around 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:30.180 with the new administration. How has that affected 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:32.799 this federal funding? Are you worried about that? 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:36.320 I can remember during the Great Recession, federal 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.899 funding for public health was just gutted as 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:42.740 part of those cuts, right? That was really devastating 00:08:42.740 --> 00:08:45.159 to the public health system back then. I know 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:46.740 a lot of that has changed. A lot of that has 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:50.769 turned around. With this new kind of... budget 00:08:50.769 --> 00:08:53.350 era that we're looking at and possibly another 00:08:53.350 --> 00:08:56.429 recession kind of facing us both nationally and 00:08:56.429 --> 00:08:59.269 locally. How concerned are you about these programs 00:08:59.269 --> 00:09:01.649 and about these funding levels? I think overall, 00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:05.389 very concerned. Now there's, you know, a local 00:09:05.389 --> 00:09:09.899 health jurisdiction might get. 10 to 20, 30 plus 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:12.860 different types of federal grants. And all of 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:17.379 those are important in different ways. But there's 00:09:17.379 --> 00:09:20.360 definitely certain grants where they have been 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:23.669 around for such a long time. They're essentially 00:09:23.669 --> 00:09:25.990 the backbones of a lot of our programs. Yeah, 00:09:25.990 --> 00:09:28.009 like WIC. I mean, how long has WIC been around, 00:09:28.350 --> 00:09:31.929 right? More than 50 years. And so if those programs 00:09:31.929 --> 00:09:34.809 go away, they're gone. They're not coming back. 00:09:35.269 --> 00:09:40.309 They're really, really critical kind of centerpieces 00:09:40.309 --> 00:09:43.690 for a lot of that work. Maternal child block 00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:45.590 grants is another good one. We've built home 00:09:45.590 --> 00:09:47.929 visiting on that, nurse family partnerships on 00:09:47.929 --> 00:09:51.850 that. We might do things around safe sleep. or 00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:56.950 car seat checks and car seat programs. We might 00:09:56.950 --> 00:10:00.590 build other injury prevention programs around 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:04.269 that. We might expand that into early childhood 00:10:04.269 --> 00:10:08.190 development work. All of that needs that core 00:10:08.190 --> 00:10:11.769 funding to help stabilize it. So we are really 00:10:11.769 --> 00:10:14.830 concerned. We know that kind of everything's 00:10:14.830 --> 00:10:16.889 at the table and everything's in the shuffle. 00:10:17.210 --> 00:10:20.250 We have identified kind of what are our high, 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.620 priority most critical grants are, and then what 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:27.139 are kind of medium priority, medium need, and 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:29.700 then what are some other kind of federal grants 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:34.220 that might enhance or expand upon other existing 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:36.960 grants. A good example of that is there's a federal 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.559 grant to support WIC programs and farmers markets. 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:43.580 So it's not the core WIC program funding, but 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:46.500 it's an enhancement to tie WIC participants to 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:48.620 farmers markets. So what were you hearing from 00:10:48.620 --> 00:10:51.990 the delegation as part? of your presentation 00:10:51.990 --> 00:10:55.289 and your concern. I mean, I assume you were communicating 00:10:55.289 --> 00:10:58.409 your concern about potential cuts. Did they give 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:00.769 you any hints on what the administration was 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:03.149 thinking or where they thought things might be 00:11:03.149 --> 00:11:08.190 going? I think recognition of just the challenges 00:11:08.190 --> 00:11:14.679 of a budget that continues to be. kind of punted 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:16.799 down the line with continuing resolution after 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:18.840 continuing resolution. Right. They're trying 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:20.419 to get another one in place right now. Right 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:23.240 now. And this week, I think the 14th is their 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:26.080 deadline for that. And we've heard, you know, 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:28.299 most likely a continuing resolution instead of 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:30.899 any sort of shutdown. But, you know, there's 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:34.000 challenges around that, of that, you know, we 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:37.909 can be pretty. you know, pretty predictable in 00:11:37.909 --> 00:11:40.889 terms of funding amounts, but those funding amounts 00:11:40.889 --> 00:11:43.529 are also very stagnant. And so they're not necessarily 00:11:43.529 --> 00:11:47.309 responsive. And so, you know. They acknowledged 00:11:47.309 --> 00:11:52.129 that budgets are tight. It's a challenge. I think 00:11:52.129 --> 00:11:54.490 we got good feedback of being able to prioritize 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:57.269 and identify like these are the core ones that 00:11:57.269 --> 00:12:00.370 we are most concerned about. And then, you know, 00:12:00.389 --> 00:12:04.429 some some lower risk or lower need or lower of 00:12:04.429 --> 00:12:07.190 concern. But those that really support a lot 00:12:07.190 --> 00:12:08.970 of our infrastructure, we were able to highlight. 00:12:09.110 --> 00:12:10.950 And I think they were responsive to that. OK, 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:13.210 OK. Let's talk Medicaid for a minute. That was 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:16.279 a big issue for the county commissioner. at the 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:17.840 legislative conference. That's what I was talking 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.720 with Commissioner Ozias and Commissioner Eisenhower 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.299 about. And I was there and it was really highlighted 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:28.320 by the National Association of Counties as a 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:32.840 major area to discuss with our delegation because 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.200 they felt like it was at risk of major cuts. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.279 And different states are obviously dependent 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.519 on Medicaid at different levels. Washington has 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:43.100 a fairly significant population, especially in 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:45.870 different regions that really... penned on Medicaid. 00:12:46.110 --> 00:12:48.289 One of our county commissioners was talking about 00:12:48.289 --> 00:12:51.029 half of the births in their county over the last 00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:54.149 year were Medicaid -supported births, and those 00:12:54.149 --> 00:12:55.950 children are going to be born regardless of whether 00:12:55.950 --> 00:12:58.710 or not the benefits continue to be provided. 00:12:59.429 --> 00:13:03.090 I know Medicaid is a big issue for clinics that 00:13:03.090 --> 00:13:07.009 your members oversee and run. What are you guys 00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:08.529 thinking as far as Medicaid and what did you 00:13:08.529 --> 00:13:13.769 hear? I think what we heard was a lot of from 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:16.549 our congressional delegation and senators who 00:13:16.549 --> 00:13:20.850 are more familiar with Medicaid, very, very tuned 00:13:20.850 --> 00:13:25.259 into. what cuts mean and very concerned. You 00:13:25.259 --> 00:13:27.840 know, 50, I think it is an average of 50 % of 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.179 our babies in Washington state are born on Medicaid. 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:32.960 Really half. And there are certain counties and 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.179 certain regions where that goes to 60 and if, 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:39.120 and even higher to 70%. Wow. Which is significant. 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.460 And we know health outcomes are absolutely dependent 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:46.960 on whether or not you can access care. So, you 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.759 know, Pregnant moms who aren't getting prenatal 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.259 care are more at risk for maternal mortality, 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.580 poor birth outcomes that impacts infants potentially 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:59.820 for life, depending on what some of those birth 00:13:59.820 --> 00:14:03.299 outcomes are. So it has a very big cascading 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:08.710 effect. Our delegates that are more familiar 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:11.509 with the Medicaid space are very much aware of 00:14:11.509 --> 00:14:13.730 what that could mean and the impacts that could 00:14:13.730 --> 00:14:17.129 have. And not all of our delegation was. And 00:14:17.129 --> 00:14:19.309 so being able to share some of those stories 00:14:19.309 --> 00:14:23.470 right away of, you know, hey, did you know? 70 00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:27.029 % of your babies born in this county or this 00:14:27.029 --> 00:14:29.610 jurisdiction or region are on Medicaid. That 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:32.669 was news to them. And that made them kind of 00:14:32.669 --> 00:14:35.149 pause and think a little bit of, oh, this has 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:39.190 a bigger impact than they maybe have realized. 00:14:39.590 --> 00:14:42.769 And if you think of other populations that might 00:14:42.769 --> 00:14:47.710 be utilizing Medicaid, that can have really far 00:14:47.710 --> 00:14:51.169 -reaching impacts. We also know that providers 00:14:51.169 --> 00:14:55.110 are struggling for Medicaid reimbursement. It's 00:14:55.110 --> 00:14:57.649 not sufficient to cover the cost of health care 00:14:57.649 --> 00:14:59.690 in some regions. And so providers are either 00:14:59.690 --> 00:15:02.250 pulling out of the Medicaid program, so not taking 00:15:02.250 --> 00:15:05.210 patients on Medicaid, or pulling out of services 00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:07.190 altogether. Well, that's been a problem for a 00:15:07.190 --> 00:15:10.009 while. That's not something that's new. No, but 00:15:10.009 --> 00:15:13.169 could absolutely be exacerbated. Right. So if 00:15:13.169 --> 00:15:16.529 you cut Medicaid beyond where it is now, and 00:15:16.529 --> 00:15:18.789 it's not sufficient in many cases, it's just 00:15:18.789 --> 00:15:21.090 going to make the problem worse. Exactly. And 00:15:21.090 --> 00:15:23.570 so concerns about that, particularly for our 00:15:23.570 --> 00:15:28.129 areas that are already driving long distances, 00:15:28.210 --> 00:15:32.230 if telehealth is impacted by potential cuts, 00:15:32.330 --> 00:15:35.409 because depending, I guess, again, on what gets 00:15:35.409 --> 00:15:38.549 cut or what changes happen in terms of what's, 00:15:38.549 --> 00:15:40.909 you know, reimbursable or what's allowed under 00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:44.590 Medicaid, if things like telehealth change, now 00:15:44.590 --> 00:15:48.090 you're not able to, you know, see a provider 00:15:48.090 --> 00:15:50.580 more on demand. like telehealth can sometimes 00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.259 provide, now you're traveling. And if you don't 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:55.980 have reliable transportation, or if it's the 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:58.659 one provider who's going to see a population 00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:03.600 of 200 ,000, good luck. And that has some significant 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:06.220 impacts for our communities. Distance, convenience, 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:09.139 access, reasonable access to healthcare services 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:12.240 is a big indicator of outcome, right? For many, 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.259 many people, especially those who need the support 00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:18.059 of... programs like Medicaid, because if they 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:20.059 need Medicaid, like you said, they probably don't 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:22.159 have reliable transportation or are less likely 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.980 to. They may not have other family supports that 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:27.340 could assist them in getting to that care, et 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:28.879 cetera, et cetera. It could be a real challenge. 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:31.720 Yeah. The cascading impacts are big. It also 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:34.799 impacts what Medicaid policies we pass at the 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:37.960 state level. So we often will pass state enhancements 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:40.440 or expansions, get that approved at the federal 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:42.299 government. So if whatever changes at the federal 00:16:42.299 --> 00:16:45.590 government might impact what we're able to pass 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:48.830 in terms of expansion or additional Medicaid 00:16:48.830 --> 00:16:51.730 benefits at the state level. So it does have 00:16:51.730 --> 00:16:53.730 a cascading effect. And so I think it's something 00:16:53.730 --> 00:16:57.629 that, you know, public health is very much tuned 00:16:57.629 --> 00:17:00.990 into that access to care issue and concept. Yeah. 00:17:01.009 --> 00:17:02.549 You know, it's interesting that you bring that 00:17:02.549 --> 00:17:04.049 up. And I wanted to talk about federal issues 00:17:04.049 --> 00:17:05.890 today and what you were hearing at the federal 00:17:05.890 --> 00:17:07.869 level. But this is one of those that really does 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:11.950 spill in a major way over to the work that we're 00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:14.289 doing also at the state level. During the legislative 00:17:14.289 --> 00:17:17.329 session that's going on now, you know, we are 00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:20.849 facing a 10 to 14 billion dollar deficit. It's 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:23.029 likely, in my opinion, to actually it's not going 00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:25.950 to get better with the next. revenue outlook, 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:29.130 and it may get worse. Some are already calling 00:17:29.130 --> 00:17:34.470 it a $15 or $16 billion deficit or trying to 00:17:34.470 --> 00:17:37.430 plan for that. If there's a major cut in Medicaid 00:17:37.430 --> 00:17:39.849 at the federal level, you know, the state uses 00:17:39.849 --> 00:17:42.529 a lot of that money in its budget for Apple Health 00:17:42.529 --> 00:17:45.470 and other services. Have you guys started talking 00:17:45.470 --> 00:17:47.990 about what that might look like and how the impacts 00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:50.910 would be felt locally from that cut at the federal 00:17:50.910 --> 00:17:53.809 level? Yeah, so there's a concept around that's 00:17:53.809 --> 00:17:56.039 being tossed at federally around block grants. 00:17:56.299 --> 00:17:58.799 So instead of being a reimbursable program like 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.599 Washington State utilizes, some states utilize 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:04.140 Medicaid as block grants. So here, instead of 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:08.140 reimbursing for every service, here is X million 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:11.140 dollars to do preventative care. In Washington 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:13.519 State, you figure out how you want to use that 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.140 block grant to do that work. Most often, block 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:18.859 grants are not the same amount of money, right? 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:22.880 And so now you're figuring out, okay, do we cut 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.769 eligibility? do we cut types of services? Block 00:18:26.769 --> 00:18:28.390 grants are kind of their way of saying, we're 00:18:28.390 --> 00:18:29.809 not going to tell you, we're not going to give 00:18:29.809 --> 00:18:32.369 you money with a bunch of strings attached, right? 00:18:32.609 --> 00:18:34.529 We're going to make it more flexible and easier 00:18:34.529 --> 00:18:38.210 for you to use, but it's probably less. Yeah. 00:18:38.349 --> 00:18:41.490 And so that's going to be a real challenge of 00:18:41.490 --> 00:18:44.509 how does Washington State in a budget deficit 00:18:44.509 --> 00:18:48.369 year, do they prioritize that over things like 00:18:48.369 --> 00:18:50.630 public safety or housing or other things that 00:18:50.630 --> 00:18:53.349 they have already identified as big ticket items? 00:18:53.349 --> 00:18:56.289 That they want to fund. Behavioral health is 00:18:56.289 --> 00:19:00.779 a big one where. Right. Right. It's a big one. 00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:02.880 Yeah. Medicaid. There's a lot of Medicaid dollars 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:04.920 to go into behavioral health services. And so 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.299 it does have a trickle effect into the state 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:10.180 conversation. And so one of the things that local 00:19:10.180 --> 00:19:12.940 government and counties can do is we can be a 00:19:12.940 --> 00:19:15.380 voice of elevating local stories to our federal 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:17.960 delegations. Like we have examples of this is 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.299 what's going on right now in your communities 00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:23.599 that we're hearing from the constituents who 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:27.259 elected both of us into office. It could also 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:29.839 be a way of being. communicator to the state 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:31.480 of, you know, here's what we're hearing going 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.140 on in our federal visits and the concerns that 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:37.160 we have and coming to the table to help provide 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:39.640 some solutions or just being aware of what those 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:41.700 potential changes are and helping navigate them. 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:45.220 Yeah. No, I appreciate that. I wanted to try 00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:47.200 to make the tie between some of what we're hearing 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:49.519 at the federal level and how that's going to, 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:52.299 you know, could have reverberating impacts and 00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:54.440 significant ones at the local level. You mentioned 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.019 there were three, three big items. We talked 00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:58.680 about public health funds. funding, Medicaid, 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:01.119 I assume that was one of the big items. What's 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.200 the last one? The last one was just being able 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:05.200 to strengthen that federal to local connection. 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:09.500 We often work very, very closely with our state 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:11.380 agencies, Department of Health and local health 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:13.380 jurisdictions often work hand in hand, but we 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:15.160 also work with Ecology, we work with Healthcare 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:18.680 Authority, DCYF, but we also work with federal 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:21.220 partners like the CDC. And so we really wanted 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:24.079 to have a conversation of, hey, we work and rely 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:27.490 on CDC for a number of things that could be data 00:20:27.490 --> 00:20:30.710 and linking local data sets that we might have 00:20:30.710 --> 00:20:34.509 public facing on websites to CDC data systems. 00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:37.950 In times of emergency, our avian flu outbreak 00:20:37.950 --> 00:20:41.750 is a good example of that. We actually strengthen 00:20:41.750 --> 00:20:44.269 that relationship even further where CDC will 00:20:44.269 --> 00:20:47.029 actually send technical experts to help in the 00:20:47.029 --> 00:20:50.509 response or will fast track testing and laboratory 00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:55.109 diagnostics. in response to an outbreak. And 00:20:55.109 --> 00:20:57.109 so we really wanted to emphasize that, hey, we 00:20:57.109 --> 00:21:00.109 have a strong connection federal to local. It 00:21:00.109 --> 00:21:03.289 isn't just, you know, federal, state, and the 00:21:03.289 --> 00:21:05.509 state only interacts with federal government. 00:21:05.650 --> 00:21:07.670 We have that interaction and rely on federal 00:21:07.670 --> 00:21:10.269 government in a lot of ways too. And so really 00:21:10.269 --> 00:21:13.849 emphasizing that relationship. Our cuts. to those 00:21:13.849 --> 00:21:17.430 agencies affecting your ability to build those 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:19.349 relationships and make those connections? Did 00:21:19.349 --> 00:21:21.289 you talk about that? And did they kind of discuss 00:21:21.289 --> 00:21:23.450 what maybe the plans are? Yeah, one of the programs 00:21:23.450 --> 00:21:28.150 that I think is small, but is a really interesting 00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:31.450 program is the PHAP program that's run through 00:21:31.450 --> 00:21:34.250 the CDC. And I'm going to get the acronym probably 00:21:34.250 --> 00:21:36.789 wrong. It's Public Health Associates Program. 00:21:37.029 --> 00:21:41.450 And it is a very highly technical expertise program. 00:21:41.609 --> 00:21:46.289 So I think epidemiologists who are highly trained 00:21:46.289 --> 00:21:51.369 in a certain area or skill set. Local health 00:21:51.369 --> 00:21:53.769 departments actually apply to participate in 00:21:53.769 --> 00:21:57.289 that program and they get one of those PHAP associates 00:21:57.289 --> 00:22:01.299 to come. into their jurisdiction. So they live 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:03.079 in their, in their County, in their communities, 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:05.480 they work in their local health department. They 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:07.920 provide that skillset. Is it for a certain period 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:10.599 of time? It's for two years. Okay. But overwhelmingly, 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:13.019 almost like a job core program. Almost. It's 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:15.940 very, yeah. Similar to AmeriCorps or other job 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:19.599 core programs where it's specializations. Right. 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:21.819 They're like a project employee and they come 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:25.240 in and usually in jurisdictions that are smaller, 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:27.619 you know, cash strapped, that sort of thing. 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:29.960 Yeah. And we have, number of jurisdictions who 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:32.259 were participating in that program. It's been 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:36.940 cut. So that program no longer exists. Those 00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:40.440 staff are no longer working in those local health 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:42.339 departments. And for a number of our local health 00:22:42.339 --> 00:22:44.680 departments, that work is just gone. They're 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:46.519 not able to pick it up because it was either 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:49.900 highly specialized or very unique to that program. 00:22:50.539 --> 00:22:52.599 I'm pretty sure we had that program in my county 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:56.140 and we had an epidemiologist that we shared with 00:22:56.140 --> 00:22:58.410 a couple of other jurisdictions. If I'm not mistaken, 00:22:58.470 --> 00:23:01.549 she was in our county maybe once or twice a week 00:23:01.549 --> 00:23:02.950 and then kind of traveled around a little bit. 00:23:02.950 --> 00:23:06.269 Yeah, we have a number of LHJs that have participated 00:23:06.269 --> 00:23:09.309 throughout the years. I believe we had five PHAP 00:23:09.309 --> 00:23:12.970 associates in our jurisdiction or in our LHJs 00:23:12.970 --> 00:23:17.049 when the program was cut. LHJs are? Local health 00:23:17.049 --> 00:23:19.509 jurisdictions. Perfect. And so that's a loss 00:23:19.509 --> 00:23:24.650 to our communities. That work is just not being 00:23:24.650 --> 00:23:28.289 done anymore. It's just sitting there. And epidemiologists 00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:30.970 will do what sort of work? An epidemiologist 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:34.109 might do a lot of data analysis, looking, pulling 00:23:34.109 --> 00:23:37.210 data from federal data sources or state data 00:23:37.210 --> 00:23:39.890 sources. They might also be analyzing that data 00:23:39.890 --> 00:23:43.650 to look at trends. Ours was very interested in 00:23:43.650 --> 00:23:46.710 ticks, believe it or not. Yeah, or tracking different 00:23:46.710 --> 00:23:49.569 things. So ticks is a really great one where 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:54.150 an epi core across the country is actually mapping 00:23:54.150 --> 00:23:57.160 the migration of ticks across. I wish people 00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:59.319 could see the smile on your face when you say 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:01.339 things like this. It's fascinating. It's the 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:05.339 nerdy part of me. But you can actually see how 00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:08.039 Lyme disease is migrating across our country. 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.640 You know, 30 years ago, Lyme disease, East Coast 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:13.619 issue. You know, 20 years ago, Midwest issue. 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:17.420 Now it's slowly creeping to the West because 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:21.460 the environments that ticks are living in. Are 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:24.740 changing. Are changing. You know, we have tick 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:26.440 season in the Midwest. west where i came from 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.839 it used to be summer activity we have ticks now 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:31.480 that can live you know in sub -zero temperatures 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.279 you know you're not thinking of ticks are going 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:36.799 to take over the world you know it's just one 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.519 right one one very niche example they're so disgusting 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.359 you know really interesting example of of using 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:47.339 data to track that um and so now oh you know 00:24:47.339 --> 00:24:51.440 you didn't need to have any sort of um program 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.599 around you know tick prevention or education 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.380 or awareness and you weren't necessarily looking 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:01.819 at Lyme disease or anaplasmosis or babesiosis 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:05.160 and all these other tick -borne diseases, now 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:08.589 you are. And because you have that... that resource 00:25:08.589 --> 00:25:11.589 at the local level and state level, you're more 00:25:11.589 --> 00:25:14.269 tuned into it. Right. And that sort of information 00:25:14.269 --> 00:25:16.450 could be helpful to healthcare providers in the 00:25:16.450 --> 00:25:19.789 region as time goes by and those trends change. 00:25:19.869 --> 00:25:23.049 And without someone looking at that data, without 00:25:23.049 --> 00:25:25.750 that resource being available, a lot of times... 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:28.519 Those providers aren't – you're not going to 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:30.500 have as good a care. You're not going to be as 00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:32.500 prepared in your community. And that's just one 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:35.359 tiny little example, right? One tiny – literally 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:39.680 because ticks are small. I didn't even mean that, 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:43.059 but that – yeah, okay. You got me on that one. 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:46.650 But they can be a really big problem. They can. 00:25:46.809 --> 00:25:49.289 Really big problem. Okay. Well, thanks, Jamie. 00:25:49.789 --> 00:25:51.990 You had a good trip overall? Had a good trip 00:25:51.990 --> 00:25:55.470 overall. Always fun to go to the other Washington 00:25:55.470 --> 00:25:58.390 for a little bit and always great to come back 00:25:58.390 --> 00:26:00.329 to. And how was the weather while you were there? 00:26:00.650 --> 00:26:02.710 It was actually beautiful. Oh, that's great. 00:26:02.710 --> 00:26:05.029 We had, yeah, it was like 65. No spring blossoms 00:26:05.029 --> 00:26:07.910 yet. Sunny. Yeah, it was quite lovely. Good, 00:26:07.930 --> 00:26:10.670 good. Got an opportunity to see a few sites, 00:26:10.750 --> 00:26:13.569 I hope? Got to see some sites. Obviously, we 00:26:13.569 --> 00:26:15.750 did our congressional visit, so got to see. the 00:26:15.750 --> 00:26:20.150 Capitol and the, not Republican, but the congressional 00:26:20.150 --> 00:26:23.769 buildings. So Rayburn, Longworth, Cannon, got 00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:25.890 to go through the tunnels. House offices and 00:26:25.890 --> 00:26:28.410 all that. House offices, Senate offices. Got 00:26:28.410 --> 00:26:30.990 to see the Library of Congress. Oh, it's a beautiful 00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:33.430 building. Which is, in my opinion, the coolest 00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:36.089 building in DC. I absolutely agree. Have you 00:26:36.089 --> 00:26:38.589 been on the tour? I have. I love the tour. Have 00:26:38.589 --> 00:26:42.109 you gotten your library card? No, I want to, 00:26:42.109 --> 00:26:44.569 and I want to sit down. I want to get in and 00:26:44.569 --> 00:26:47.490 sit down. into the rotunda yeah it is one of 00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:51.069 the funnest most fun souvenirs and like you know 00:26:51.069 --> 00:26:53.950 touristy things because it is you know it is 00:26:53.950 --> 00:26:57.130 our it is our library right it's america's library 00:26:57.130 --> 00:26:59.349 and being able to get your library of congress 00:26:59.349 --> 00:27:02.450 card is yeah um it's a really fun thing i've 00:27:02.450 --> 00:27:04.670 never had as much time as i needed to actually 00:27:04.670 --> 00:27:06.230 kind of go through that process and then sit 00:27:06.230 --> 00:27:09.680 on the floor you know and and Do, I don't know, 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.200 some research, whatever you do in the Library 00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:15.799 of Congress. But I just remember being awe -inspired 00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:18.519 by the building. I really enjoyed the tour. The 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:20.619 interior of the building is just as magnificent 00:27:20.619 --> 00:27:22.720 as the exterior, and I think it really is one 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:25.700 of the most beautiful structures in D .C., if 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:28.579 not almost anywhere. Yeah, and then I was able 00:27:28.579 --> 00:27:31.299 to tick the postage museum. Tick the postage 00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:34.140 museum? Yes, tick the postage museum off my list 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:36.599 of D .C. things. Oh, tick it off your list. Okay, 00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:38.660 I thought you were referring to... our earlier 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:40.539 parts of the conversation. But yeah, I was able 00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:42.480 to go to that, which I had never been yet. I 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:44.279 don't think anybody goes to that, Jamie. You 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:47.200 know, it was a little gem. It was, you know, 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.920 you don't need to spend a lot of time, but it 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:52.599 was interesting to learn about postage and see 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:57.240 some old postage stamps. Wow. So exciting. You 00:27:57.240 --> 00:28:00.319 know, it was more exciting than I thought. And 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:03.180 it was one of the things I had yet to do in D 00:28:03.180 --> 00:28:05.680 .C. So for those who don't know, the postage 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:09.490 museum is over by... Union Station, which is 00:28:09.490 --> 00:28:14.329 right across from, what is the Irish pub right 00:28:14.329 --> 00:28:18.869 there? I can't remember the name of it. It's 00:28:18.869 --> 00:28:21.529 super old. But it is connected to a hotel. Yes. 00:28:21.670 --> 00:28:23.690 And I have stayed in that hotel several times, 00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:30.210 having gone to DC quite a few times. And I have 00:28:30.210 --> 00:28:32.960 looked at the postage museum. many many times 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:36.619 and walked right past it and i never think i 00:28:36.619 --> 00:28:38.819 don't think i ever saw anybody go in so you must 00:28:38.819 --> 00:28:40.940 have been they must have woke up when you opened 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:43.579 the door there was a number of folks that were 00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:48.299 there um it wasn't just me um how are you on 00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:50.140 the age list compared to the other people that 00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:52.680 were there uh you know there was some young little 00:28:53.369 --> 00:28:57.769 Kids with grandparents. But, you know, if you 00:28:57.769 --> 00:29:00.190 have an hour, hour and a half, it's fun to just 00:29:00.190 --> 00:29:03.630 dip into. What's great about D .C. is so many 00:29:03.630 --> 00:29:06.289 of those museums are just free to the public. 00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:09.390 Part of the Smithsonian. Hey, I have 35 minutes. 00:29:09.549 --> 00:29:11.690 I want to see, you know, I want to go and see 00:29:11.690 --> 00:29:14.029 this one thing. It's a good little thing to do. 00:29:14.150 --> 00:29:15.869 Well, I'm glad you had a good time. You are the 00:29:15.869 --> 00:29:17.890 only person that I have ever met that's actually 00:29:17.890 --> 00:29:20.309 been inside the postage museum at Washington, 00:29:20.450 --> 00:29:22.690 D .C. That'll be a trivia question at some point. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.819 in the future. Jamie, it's cutoff day. It's early. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:29.500 We're going to be up late, I'm sure. And I hope 00:29:29.500 --> 00:29:31.240 you'll come back and cut another podcast with 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:35.000 me to share in the good news and maybe some of 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:37.119 the not good news after cutoff. Sounds good. 00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:42.450 All right. We'll see you then. Thanks for tuning 00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:44.690 in to County Connection. Stay in the loop by 00:29:44.690 --> 00:29:47.029 subscribing to us through your preferred podcasting 00:29:47.029 --> 00:29:49.789 app and following us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and 00:29:49.789 --> 00:29:51.869 Instagram. And don't forget to join The Hub, 00:29:51.990 --> 00:29:54.150 your go -to source for the latest news and updates 00:29:54.150 --> 00:29:56.349 from the Washington State Association of Counties. 00:29:56.509 --> 00:29:59.230 Until next time, stay connected and stay informed.