State lawmakers must build strong health care safety net
DR. JEFF SMITH AND SUSAN EIDENSCHINK
We’ve learned from the financial crisis that if we ignore big problems, they don’t go away; they grow until they become a disastrous crisis.
Today we are watching a crisis unfold before our eyes, but it is not too late to take action.
By the end of this year there could be 150,000 more uninsured people in our state due to job loss and Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed cuts to safety net health care programs. That’s a 20 percent increase virtually overnight.
Behind these big numbers are individual people who will be faced with choices none of us ever wants to make. Should I pay my rent or get that lump examined?
Now is precisely the time for legislators to strengthen the health care safety net. One way to help our ailing economy is to invest in health care.
These investments have a double effect: First, people get needed health care services; second, good-paying jobs in clinics and hospitals across the state are protected.
But shoring up the current system is not enough. It is also the time to set the framework for longer-term reforms so that the health care system is more affordable and accessible for everyone on the other side of the recession.
The Healthy Washington Coalition, made up of more than 90 organizations statewide, is asking our state leaders to save the health care safety net. Safety nets are just that — systems and programs that catch and protect for people when times are the worst.
We can’t afford to cut our Basic Health Program, public health, General Assistance Unemployable, long-term care, family planning and mental health at the exact time that the number of unemployed and uninsured people in Washington is rising steeply.
Fortunately, the other Washington is providing our state with more than $2 billion in health care stimulus funds that, if dedicated to their intended purpose, can preserve the health care safety net and help maintain the infrastructure – providers, clinics, hospitals – we’ll need.
The additional $2.06 billion in federal matching funds for Medicaid should be used for the health care safety net and not to supplant spending for other state programs.
This threat is very real, and it will take constituents from across the state acting as watch dogs to ensure that federal health care money is used for health care for people. State dollars saved in the Medicaid program as a result of the federal dollars should be used to keep the Basic Health Program enrollments at least at their present level.
We also ask our state leaders to commit to cover all Washingtonians by 2012. Now is the time to put in place a framework for achieving quality affordable health care for all in our state. A part of that framework could be accomplished by passing Senate Bill 5730, which directs the state to apply for a federal waiver that would allow Washingtonians living under 200 percent of federal poverty to be covered by Medicaid. Such a waiver would have the benefit of potentially bringing more health care dollars to Washington in order to expand coverage.
While the current economic crisis has led some to suggest that we can’t afford health reform, waiting comes with a price. The crisis worsens every day that we do not act. Premiums will continue to rise; Washingtonians will continue to pay more for less generous health coverage; and fewer employers will be able to afford offering health insurance to their workers.
We believe lawmakers should pass legislation this year committing to a firm timeline and process to achieve the goal of secure, quality, affordable health care coverage for all Washingtonians.
Our state has viable options. An economic analysis of reform proposals commissioned by the Legislature for the state showed that we can guarantee everyone coverage on par with what lawmakers receive, while increasing efficiency to lower costs for businesses, individuals, and the state.
Several years ago, Washington set a legislative goal of covering all children by 2010. We are very close to achieving that goal. It’s time to set a legislative goal for all Washingtonians: Put in place a process to achieve secure, quality, affordable health care coverage for all Washingtonians by 2012. The elected officials have secure, quality, affordable health care coverage. So should the people they represent.
The Legislature can and should take steps to both mitigate our immediate health care concerns and begin to plan for a future system that is fair and available to all.
Dr. Jeff Smith is the medical director of Community Health Care. Susan Eidenschink is a member of the League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County.
