3.24.17

Suggested lead:  Nearly three quarters of a million newly insured Washingtonians got some good news from the nation’s capital today.  Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:72 total): 

ROBINSON:  "In a way we all benefit, but certainly the 700,000 Washingtonians who gained healthcare for the first time, or maybe in a long time, as a result of the Affordable Care Act are the biggest winners here.  They can breathe easier and know that they will continue to have healthcare coverage at an affordable price to them.” [:16]. 

That’s Representative June Robinson, and that’s how many people in the Evergreen State were added to the ranks of the insured in the seven years since the Affordable Care Act became the law of the land.  Those same 700,000 would have lost their medical insurance if President Trump had succeeded in pulling the plug on Obamacare – success that eluded him Friday afternoon. Robinson, a Democrat from Everett, serves as vice-chair of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee.  She said the apparent death of Trumpcare was good news for the state’s bottom line, and held out hope that the current system could now be improved upon.

ROBINSON:  "Everybody agrees that there are improvements that need to be made to the Affordable Care Act.  Having this Republican proposal in Congress fail gives us an opportunity to regroup, come back together in a bipartisan fashion, and really work to make the system that’s in place work better for everyone.  " [:19]. 

Reporting from Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.