Health Care
Home Health Care Providers Speak Out on Prop. 1
As a home health service provider, my priority is caring for Olympia’s most vulnerable residents — seniors, people with disabilities, and those recovering from illness or injury. Our work is deeply personal and built around client needs, not rigid schedules.Proposition 1’s one-size-fits-all scheduling rules would make it much harder to provide the flexible, compassionate care our clients rely on. Many of our clients need care twice a day — in the morning to get ready and again in the evening to prepare for bed.
Under Prop. 1, we would have to pay “penalties” for scheduling caregivers less than ten hours apart, even though those split shifts are essential for the health and dignity of our clients.The added costs — combined with a 20% wage increase — will force us to raise rates. For many families already struggling to afford in-home care, that could mean cutting hours, skipping needed visits, or turning to institutional care instead of staying safely at home. Proposition 1 may be well-intentioned, but it threatens to make care less affordable and less accessible for those who need it most.
Please vote NO on Proposition 1 to protect essential home health services.
Health care impacts for large providers
Regional medical centers and other health care facilities operate 24/7 to meet the needs of the community. Their mission is to provide high-quality, accessible care — from emergency services to specialized treatments — and they rely on flexible staffing to keep patients safe.
Proposition 1’s 20% minimum wage increase and rigid scheduling requirements would add significant costs and administrative complexity to health care operations. Hospitals and clinics must be able to respond quickly to emergencies, patient surges, and unexpected staffing shortages. Prop. 1’s penalties for last-minute schedule changes and “short rest” periods would make that flexibility more expensive and harder to manage.
These added costs don’t disappear — they divert resources away from patient care. Instead of funding new equipment, innovative programs, or additional staff, health care providers would be forced to redirect funds to compliance and penalty payments. The result could be longer wait times, reduced services, and higher costs for patients.
While well-intentioned, Prop. 1 risks undermining the very goal of a healthier community. Protecting access to timely, quality care means voting NO on Proposition 1 this November.