Business 
Sen. Ann Rivers has been promoted to leader of the Senate Health Care Committee. She will begin as committee chair when the 2017 legislative session convenes early next month.
Rivers, (R-La Center), served on the health care committee for the past two years. Her priorities will include pursuing policy answers to the opioid epidemic in Washington; improving access to medical and dental services in rural and underserved areas; and working to gain better control of health care costs.
It is the first committee-chair position for Rivers, who is about to begin a second four-year term as 18th District senator. Although her first term included serving on other high-profile committees, from K-12 education to transportation to the budget, Rivers said that when it came to seeking the top spot on a policy committee, her frequent interaction with southwest Washington residents led her to health care.
“Our region has significant challenges when it comes to health care access. I know that as a health care consumer myself, and I hear about it from people wherever I go,” Rivers said. “And who among us doesn’t know someone whose life has been affected by opioid abuse?”
Rivers expects her first-term experience with other complicated issues will help her as committee chair.
