Democratic Rep. Marcus Riccelli chairs the Washington House Health Care and Wellness Committee in the legislature. At our conference in January, Riccelli spoke with us about the main policy areas he’s focusing on through his influential role at the capitol.
Among his top priorities are continuing to incorporate the social determinants of health into health policymaking, supporting the state’s behavioral health workforce, and improving telehealth policy.
“I think we need to continue to build on digital equity. I support a lot of work in the telehealth realm, but we can’t get people access to telehealth if they don’t have access to broadband and sustainable internet. We hear a lot around digital equity for education, for job growth. We need to make sure healthcare is front and center when we’re talking about telehealth.”