The Washington State Medical Association and our undersigned physician organization partners acknowledge the extremely difficult choices that you are facing in working to close the state budget shortfall, particularly as health care programs are an area of the budget most at risk of cuts.

We are committed to engaging constructively in conversations around the budget and potential revenue options. But as we review the revenue proposals that have been made public to date, the establishment of a statewide payroll tax as proposed in Senate Bill 5796 would have a particularly devastating impact on physician groups and patients’ access to care and we must oppose the bill in its current form.

While much of the discussion around the payroll tax has been focused on the state’s largest corporations, the reality is that the tax will apply to the vast majority of physician groups operating in the state. And crucially, unlike many other industries, physician groups do not control the prices they charge so the imposition of SB 5796 will necessarily adversely impact patients’ access to health care services.

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