Governor's attempt to fix health-care woes deserves praise
Saturday, May 6, 2006 11:56 PM PDT
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E-mail this articleWhen political leaders talk of developing a five-year plan to meet some pressing need, it's probably a good idea not to set expectations too high. Back shelves are full of dust-covered, multi-year plans. Nonetheless, we welcomed Gov. Chris Gregoire call Thursday for the creation of a state health care commission to draft a five-year plan for containing soaring medical costs and improving accessibility.
Most citizens, no doubt, will be similarly encouraged to think this issue may finally get the priority it merits. A statewide poll conducted at the start of the 2005 legislative session showed that health care easily topped the economy as the most pressing concern for Washingtonians. Alarms here and nationwide have continued to sound over the health-care system's mounting problems since that survey was taken.
Costs continue to rise, squeezing government and businesses alike and steadily pushing up the number of uninsured. The same day Gregoire announced the formation of the state's new health-care commission, University of Minnesota researchers released a study showing that more workers are passing on company health benefits, because they can't afford their share of the cost.
Affordability has become a serious issue for employers, who typically pay more than 80 percent of the benefit's cost. The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage amounts to $14,000 or more.
Medical costs are a huge concern for state budget writers. About 30 percent of this state's spending goes to health care. The federal-state Medicaid program is draining the state treasury and still the state is unable to meet the increasing demand for Medicaid assistance.
There's no relief on the horizon. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects a 7.2 percent annual increase in medical costs over the next 10 years. That would easily outpace the projected growth of the overall economy -- 5.1 percent. By 2015, the nation's medical bill will top $4 trillion, according the federal agency. Consumers will pay just half of that bill; taxpayers will pay the rest.
As those national projections suggest, the problems plaguing this country's health-care system can't be solved at the state level. But with national leaders unwilling confront those problems, it's left to the states to do what they can to make medical care more affordable and accessible for their citizens. We applaud the governor's move to explore just what Washington lawmakers can do to improve this state's health-care system.
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