On this page you will find concerns about federal health care reform, as well as our solutions for health care reform.
Our solutions for health care reform 
Our most significant concerns with the federal health care legislation include:
- causing health insurance premiums for families and individuals to rise even more due to new mandates on private insurance plans
- giving the federal government the power to require every U.S. citizens to buy health insurance – if a person does not comply, he or she could be fined by the federal government
- costing the federal government $938 billion, at a time when federal spending is out-of-control and the national debt is more than $12 trillion
- dramatically increasing the number of people on Medicaid, when our country cannot afford to pay for those who are already on Medicaid
- making a giant step toward a government-controlled health care system, instead of a patient-controlled system.
We also agree with those, including Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, who believe the federal health care legislation unconstitutionally imposes new requirements on our state and its citizens. The unprecedented federal mandate that requires all Washingtonians to purchase health insurance violates the Commerce Clause and the 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Lost in the national debate is the fact that many health care challenges can, and should be, addressed at the state level.
Preserving what is working well
Many people are happy with their health care today, while around 88 percent of Washingtonians have health insurance. We also cannot lose sight of the fact that our country offers the best quality health care in the world. Any proposed reforms, whether at the state or federal level, must not disrupt these aspects of our health care system that are currently working well.
To address our health care problems, we must understand them. Cost for a family health benefit plan in our state has tripled since 2000. And small business employee health benefit plan costs have more than doubled since 2000. Aside from costs and access, another problem is that people often lose their insurance when they lose their jobs.
Who are the uninsured?
As we seek to offer every person and employer with access to affordable health care, it is important understand the uninsured population. There are approximately 46.3 million people in our country who are uninsured; however, 9.5 million are not U.S. citizens. This puts the actual number of uninsured U.S. citizens at around 36.8 million.
According to 2008 U.S. Census Data, the uninsured population breaks down as follows (some may belong to more than one category):
- 41 percent are between 19 and 34-years-old;
- 20 percent are not citizens or are in the country illegally;
- 38 percent make more than $50,000 per year;
- 25 percent are eligible for a government program; and
- 45 percent are uninsured for six months or less.
Our solutions for health care reform
Step one is to protect what is working well in our system, and fix what is broken. State lawmakers also need to take into account costs to consumers when considering new health care legislation. Finally, if we are going to lower costs and improve access, our state needs more health insurance companies. We have just three today, and this lack of competition hurts consumers.
Here are some health care solutions we are supporting:
- Comprehensive medical malpractice reform (House Bill 1360) – This would prevent lawsuit abuse and the savings would be passed along to consumers.
- Eliminating all state-mandated benefits that are not required by federal law (House Bill 1361) – Our state has 46 separate health insurance mandates, while the federal government adds 11. Each mandate adds to the overall costs of health insurance for all consumers. This would ensure catastrophic things are covered while providing consumers choices when it comes to other coverages that are more elective in nature.
- Prohibit laws and rules that interfere with an individual’s right to make his or her own health care choices (House Bill 1946) – This would ensure consumer-driven health care in our state – with people in charge of their decisions.
- Prevent state agencies and executive branch from spending state resources on implementation of federal health care legislation (House Bill 1804) – Since we don’t know what will happen to the federal health care legislation in the courts, this would ensure state tax dollars are not used until the appropriate legal matters are settled.
Guiding principles for House Republican health care solutions
Our solutions are guided by the following principles:
- Competition and market forces are necessary to improve health care quality and control costs;
- Individuals, not government, should determine how they will receive and pay for their health care; and
- Government’s role in health care should be limited to providing a safety net for only the truly needy.
Our goal is to provide individuals and families with health insurance options that meet their needs and budgets. We also want employers to have an opportunity to offer affordable health insurance options to their employees, but they should not be forced by government to provide them at a specified level. These goals can be accomplished if we can create a healthy insurance market that will bring more companies into the state.
- lower health care costs;
- more choices for citizens;
- more access to health care; and
- a repaired safety net for the most needy.
- health savings account (HSA): These allow individuals to save pre-tax dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Contributions, earnings and qualified medical expenses paid from the account are all tax-free. There is no ‘use it or lose it’ feature, encouraging responsibility and savings. Accounts are completely portable, allowing individuals to keep the account whether or not their employer participates.
- voucher: a specified dollar amount to be used for purchasing health insurance in the private market.
- subsidy: a discount provided by the state
- certificate of need: A regulatory process that requires certain health care facilities (e.g. hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) to obtain state approval before offering certain new or expanded services. The CON process is intended to help ensure that new services proposed by health care providers are needed for quality patient care within a particular region or community.
- Medicaid: A joint federal-state program of health and long-term care coverage for people with low incomes or very high medical bills. The federal government provides matching funds for state funds at percentages tied to each state’s per capita income.
- Medicare: A federal health insurance program for anyone age 65 and older, along with certain people on Social Security disability. The state is not responsible for Medicare policies or funding.