This morning the Senate Health and Long-Term Care committee heard details about an overhaul of the healthcare benefit system for nearly 200,000 public school employees.

The proposal would consolidate the healthcare plans of 295 school districts, and include medical, dental and vision. Life insurance and long-term disability would be left to the individual school districts.

The plan could save the state an estimated about 1-2 percent of the current billion dollars that is currently spent on public school employee benefits, according to a report by the Health Care Authority.

Sen. Steve Conway said that although the cost savings was important, that’s not the only issue at hand. “What we’re trying to do is get a good product to the people who work in the school districts,” Conway said.

Randy Parr of the Washington Education Association said that they oppose any plan that would give a government board power over employee healthcare plans.

“This is a genuinely seriously subject and you are talking about 200,000 lives,” Parr said. “I hope you understand the importance and magnitude of decisions” that could affect people’s healthcare coverage, premiums and choice of doctors, Parr added.

Tags: benefits, education, healthcare, Schools

Did you catch last night’s edition of Inside Olympia? Austin Jenkins talked healthcare costs Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate. A couple of interesting statistics: Sen. Karen Keiser said 80 percent of healthcare costs are driven by 20 percent of patients. And she said the state pays for half of all births in Washington, and far too many of those babies are delivered via C-section, which are more expensive and, Keiser says, not always necessary.

Tags: healthcare

Attorney General Rob McKenna spoke with Allen Schauffler from King 5 news at the Washington Policy Center’s forum on Friday. In the video below, he gives a thorough explanation of what he thinks the lawsuit would change if successful, and also discusses why he has the authority to sue on behalf of the federal government on behalf of the state of Washington:

Tags: healthcare

The lawsuit over federal healthcare reform that Attorney General Rob McKenna joined has been refiled — and the 13 original states have grown to 20.

Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Alaska joined the lawsuit today, along with two individual plaintiffs and the National Federation of Independent Business. The group filed an amended complaint, which you can find here.

“The additional plaintiffs joining our suit today share our passion for ensuring that Congress passes health care reforms that do not violate the Constitutional rights of individuals across our country,” McKenna said in a statement. “Health care reform is a vitally important issue—much too important to build on an unconstitutional foundation.”

The plaintiffs argue in the suit that mandating that everyone either purchase healthcare coverage or pay a fine is unconstitutional, and that that fine constitutes an unlawful tax, according to McKenna.

Oral arguments in the original case are scheduled for September.

Tags: healthcare

Read Gov. Chris Gregoire’s press release after the jump.
(more…)

Tags: healthcare, Reform

“Today, we’re ready. We are more than ready to fully implement national healthcare reform and to do it in a way that Washingtonians would like to have it done,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a press conference today.

She said the federal healthcare reform will help businesses, seniors and children. “But that’s just the beginning … more sweeping changes are on the way,” she said, and will take effect between now and 2014. “We have less than four years to implement this comprehensive overhaul,” she said. “We want to get that plane to land smoothly and that’s why we’ve got to start building the runway today,” she said.

To that end, she’s asking Doug Porter to serve as the head of the Healthcare Authority.

“Every single insurance policy for everyone that has a policy today is going to change,” Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said. “We’re going to make sure that every insurance policy that is in the state of Washington includes preventive services,” he said — without a copay or deductible. And: No lifetime maximum. “We’re also looking at children — health insurance can no longer deny them coverage because of a pre-existing condition.”

I’ll post the whole video as soon as it’s avaialable.

Tags: healthcare

This just in from the governor’s office. See Jessica’s post below — and watch The Impact tonight at 7 or 10 p.m. on TVW — for more information.

Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday, April 1, will be joined by health industry policy experts and advocates to announce plans to implement health care reform in Washington.

Event Date: Thursday, April 1

11:30 a.m. Gov. Gregoire to announce plan to implement health care reform in Washington state

Swedish Medical Center, foyer outside Glaser Auditorium

747 Broadway, Seattle

Of course, TVW will be there. While we won’t have the press conference live, we will post it as soon as the crew is back — and I’ll post the video here.

Tags: healthcare

Watch the debate over whether healthcare reform is constitutional here. Or update your browser here, because I’ll be blogging along with the action!

Hugh Spitzer, the moderator, is starting things off. He said the panel will not focus on policy issues — but will discuss whether the provisions are constitutional. The impetus of the discussion is, of course, the federal lawsuit filed by a dozen attorneys general, including Washington’s AG Rob McKenna.

Next up, Sallie Sanford. She’s giving a brief summary of the huge bill, which she mentioned was just amended today. “Beginning in 2014, most Americans will be required to have health insurance,” she said. That can be Medicare, employer-provided or private purchase. There are exceptions: Religious, financial hardship and if the only policy is more than 8 percent of the person’s income.

Subsidies will be available, she said, for anyone up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level — that’s about $88,000 for a family of four.

A $695 per person tax will be levied on anyone who is required to get insurance but doesn’t do so. (more…)

Tags: healthcare

“Today, we are taking our first steps to implement healthcare reform in our state,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said, kicking off the press conference with U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and legislative leaders. This year, small businesses will be able to get tax credits for providing healthcare, Gregoire said, and small children won’t be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. But, she said, there’s more.

“We are seeking federal support for two very critical and very unique Washington programs,” she said — GAU and Basic Health. She said the federal healthcare package will help keep people on the Basic Health Plan. “We have been working with the federal government since January getting ourselves ready” for this, she said. And this week, the state will seek an agreement with the federal government to secure federal match dollars for Basic Health.

Gregoire said Cantwell helped secure language in the bill to help Basic Health and GAU.

Cantwell: Thanked Gregoire, Senate Majority Lisa Brown and House Speaker Frank Chopp for their work on healthcare in the state. “While its been a thrill to be in the Oval Office to watch the president sign the insurance reform bill, it’s more important for me to be here today to celebrate.”

She said Washington will likely get federal money over the next three years for Basic Health. She said in 2014, the state will be able to expand Basic Health to provide coverage to more people.

“The Basic Health Plan truly is the model for where our country should be going… so I’m really here to say thank you to all of my colleagues in the Washington Legislature … this is a celebration of nearly 20 years of the Basic Health Plan.”

House Speaker Frank Chopp: “Let’s hear it for Maria,” he said, to claps. He thanked Sen. Cantwell and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, then said the success of the Apple Health for Kids program has been another state healthcare win.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown: Said her very first year in the Senate, they passed a state healthcare reform bill anticipating that federal reform was near. She said that didn’t happen — until now. “Healthcare costs are probably the single biggest structural problem in our state budget and that’s why this measure that has passed at the federal level cannot be underestimated,” she said.

“We have struggled in Washington state to keep our commitment to the Basic Health Plan,” she said. Now, 65,000 people or so are on the plan, and more than that are on the waiting list. (more…)

Tags: healthcare

Here’s Attorney General Rob McKenna’s statement on his decision to join other attorneys general in suing over the new federal healthcare legislation:

“I believe this new federal health care measure unconstitutionally imposes new requirements on our state and on its citizens. This unprecedented federal mandate, requiring all Washingtonians to purchase health insurance, violates the Commerce Clause and the 10th amendment of the US Constitution.

“I’m concerned that the measure unconstitutionally requires all Washingtonians to purchase health insurance and places an extraordinary burden on our state budget by requiring Washington to expand its Medicaid eligibility standards in violation of our state’s rights guaranteed under the10th amendment.”

Tags: healthcare