The High Ground: Voices from Eastern Washington

Sign in Subscribe

Health

Care, cost, access—and the fight to keep it all.

Baumgartner Backed the Cuts. Then Tried to Take Credit for the Fix

Baumgartner Backed the Cuts. Then Tried to Take Credit for the Fix

A Quiet Betrayal, Then a Sudden Conversion The bipartisan H.R. 879 was introduced in January 2025 to respond to a 2.83% Medicare cut that had just taken effect. The Washington State Medical Association, the American Medical Association, and rural health providers nationwide urged Congress to act quickly to

Left to Burn: EPA Grant Cuts Are Smothering Rural Washington’s Fight for Clean Air

Left to Burn: EPA Grant Cuts Are Smothering Rural Washington’s Fight for Clean Air

The Air Is Still, But not Clean In the early days of summer, with wildfire season looming, the people of Washington’s Methow Valley are preparing for smoke. But this year, they’re doing it with fewer tools and less help. Jasmine Minbashian, director of the Methow Valley Citizens Council,

A Silent Culling: What 51,000 Preventable Deaths Reveal About Trump’s Health Care Cuts

A Silent Culling: What 51,000 Preventable Deaths Reveal About Trump’s Health Care Cuts

“Are we just left to die?” Gail Halverson asks the question quietly, but it lands with weight. A retired resident of Spokane, Washington, Gail depends on both Medicare and Medicaid to manage her health. In March, she spoke at a roundtable hosted by Senator Maria Cantwell.[3] Her voice echoed