Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, made a strong pitch for market-oriented health care reform at AWB's Legislative Day. Ericksen, the ranking minority member of the House Health Care and Wellness Committee, was initially slated to share the forum with Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Issaquah, and Rep. John Driscoll, D-Spokane, but the other two legislators were unable to attend due to commitments in the Legislature.
"The more we can encourage competition, reduce prices and increase access to health care, the more employees will have the kind of health care they want and the kind of health care their employers want to give them," said Ericksen.
Ericksen emphasized 10 steps, each reflected in legislation to enact them, that are needed to be reform Washington's health-care system:
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Purchasing health-care plans approved in other states
Providing new choices for small employers (small group reform)
Offering young adult plans (19-34 year olds)
Allowing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for state employees
Encouraging and incentivizing health-care innovation
Providing an "opt out" for the "every category" provider mandate
Cutting taxes on health care plans
Reforming the Basic Health Plan (BHP)
Enacting comprehensive medical malpractice reform
Protecting the rights of Washingtonians to make their own health-care choices.
Ericksen was hopeful the first item on the list, HB 3015, an AWB supported bill allowing the purchase of health care across state lines had a good chance of passage since it has major bipartisan support and is sponsored by Rep. Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle, the chair of the House Health Care and Wellness Committee. Other bills, however, supported by Republicans that would have accomplished Ericksen's other goals did not make this week's legislative cutoff, and are considered dead for this session.
On the national front, Ericksen believes the efforts of Congress and President Obama to overhaul health care are also essentially dead.
"One thing Washington state has got to stop doing is waiting for the federal government to reform health care," We're not going to have a comprehensive health care bill coming out of D.C."
Ericksen cautions his fellow lawmakers to be careful in how they go about reforming health care.
"The Legislature is an amazing place," said Ericksen. "It is full of people who want to do good, but when they try to reach too far, their attempts to help people limit choice and end up hurting the people they want to serve."
