Fast on the heels of Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's big push for catastrophic health insurance, it's already obvious that health care will be a big issue during the 2008 legislative session.
A growing coalition of unions and medical groups lobbied for attention Wednesday as state lawmakers geared up to debate changes to the health care system....
The Healthy Washington Coalition showed its union roots in a rally on the Insurance Building's steps. Washington State Labor Council lobbyist Robby Stern led the chorus, "What do we want?"
"Quality, affordable health care!" bellowed back a crowd of about 100.
Behind the slogans, however, the coalition has added many of the major health care groups in the state.
Members include the Washington State Medical Association, the Washington State Hospital Association and Group Health, the insurance provider.
"We have built the largest health reform coalition that has ever existed in the state of Washington" Stern said.
Among the group's priorities are prohibiting drug companies from buying the prescription records of doctors for marketing purposes, doubling a student-loan payment program for rural doctors to $6 million, and giving the insurance commissioner more power to control increases in individual health-plan premiums.
Skyrocketing costs are, indeed, driving much of the concern over health care. According to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, over $33 billion - twice Washington's annual budget - went to health care in Washington during 2006. Of each of those dollars, 30 cents went to billing, record keeping and other administrative tasks.
How much Kreidler's catastrophic health plan will cost is, however, unknown - even by Kreidler himself, although he's already admitted that employer's would carry a major share of the plan's fiancial burden. Nevertheless, he was at the Healthy Washington Coalition rally, promoting his scheme. The Olympian reports:
Kreidler told the crowd about his proposal to subsidize minimal insurance coverage — for costs of more than $10,000 — to every Washington resident.
"I'd like to take it to a vote of the people, because I think the people will support it," Kreidler said.
Even Democratic legislators who are philosophically sympathetic to Kreidler's vision of government-centric health care are concerned enough about the plan's potential costs that they won't push it in 2008. According to the Olympian:
The Democratic leaders in the Legislature, who passed a package of health care reforms last year, have pledged to keep new spending down this year, ahead of elections in the fall.
Rep. Eileen Cody [D-Seattle], chairwoman of the House Health Care Committee, said Kreidler's proposal won't pass this year, even if he would support a public vote on it.
But don't breathe a sigh of relief. Cody added:
"I think we'll see something in the future...."....
I smell a battle in 2009.
