WA SB5344

Establishes the Essential Worker Health Care Program within the Department of Social and Health Services to provide nursing home workers with affordable health coverage through supplemental payments to participating employers based on Medicaid bed days.

Requires participating nursing home employers to offer health benefits through a "qualified health fund" certified by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, which must include at least two unrelated employers and cover at least 5,000 long-term care employees in Washington.

Mandates employers maintain health care spending at pre-program levels (adjusted annually for CPI) and allocate substantially all program funds to the qualified health fund, with spending requirements verified through documentation and annual certifications.

Requires qualified health funds to offer benefits equivalent to ACA platinum-level plans or Taft-Hartley trust-approved plans, and demonstrate employee input on plan design and robust enrollment processes.

Conditions program implementation on federal approval of a state plan amendment or waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with the department required to submit the necessary application within six months of state funding appropriation.