Dino Rossi on Health Care:

On his website, Dino Rossi says the incumbent Gov. Christine Gregoire ”has been too focused on bureaucratic solutions and has failed to act decisively to make health insurance more affordable for all people in Washington.”

The full text of Rossi’s position statement on health-care reform on his website follows. 

Improving Washington state’s Health Care System

Whether you’re an individual, family or business owner, you’re facing higher health insurance costs, fewer choices and less coverage. That is unacceptable.

All too often in state government, the debate over health care breaks down into two camps: health insurance companies vs. government-controlled health care advocates. But who is speaking up for you, the consumer?

The incumbent has been too focused on bureaucratic solutions and has failed to act decisively to make health insurance more affordable for all people in Washington. She has even failed to implement recommendations from her own bipartisan Blue Ribbon Commission on health care. As governor, I will do what she has been either unable or unwilling to do to enact meaningful reforms to our health care system.

Here are my overall goals for reforming our health care system:

Lowering health insurance costs & helping the uninsured

State government has made it more difficult to get insurance, causing costs to go up every year. That’s not right. As governor I will encourage new rules that make insurance more affordable.

Health care must be made more affordable for middle class families. They have seen their insurance costs sky-rocket, leaving little room left in their budgets to pay for their family’s health care needs such as vision, dental or orthodontia. Middle income families pay taxes to help provide health care coverage for the poor and vulnerable, but are struggling to meet their own health care needs.

The rising cost of health insurance is a growing concern for small business owners who can no longer afford insurance for their employees. That’s why I support Association Health Plans that allow small business to band together to purchase health insurance policies.

Young adults ages 19-34 account for over half (51%) of the uninsured in our state. Affordable plans should be designed to meet the special health and financial needs of this group.

Expanding choices

Costly regulations and a high number of mandates by state government have driven insurers out of the state, leaving consumers with fewer insurance plans to choose from. Washington state currently has 51 different health insurance mandates on each plan offered. By comparison, Idaho only has 14 mandates and has lower insurance costs.

That is why we must reduce regulations and mandates, and allow health insurance companies to offer affordable plans that meet the needs of individuals. Our current system leaves individuals with fewer options and higher insurance costs, since they are paying for coverage they may not even need.

We need to let the free market work. It’s a simple fact: When more companies have to compete for your business, choices go up and costs go down. And state government will be there to keep insurance companies accountable and make sure they fulfill their promises to consumers.

Improving Access

People throughout the state need better access to quality health care.

Too many of our communities, both rural and urban, lack primary care physicians. We must act now to recruit, train and retain our physician workforce.

I will also support programs that help place doctors into our rural communities, where they consistently face physician shortages.

Washington state has become a nationwide leader on health information technology. Through technology and innovation we can improve delivery of health care, while simultaneously reducing costs and improving quality.

Promoting Accountability, Greater Flexibility and Healthy Lifestyles

I believe in putting people in charge of their health care, not the government. Our goal should be to empower individuals and allow them to tailor a health care plan that best meets their individual health care needs.

We must do more to expand the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSA) in Washington state. HSAs offer flexible and affordable insurance options that give individuals greater control.

Promoting preventative medicine and healthy living are important for us to become a healthy state. Studies have found that roughly 25% of all medical costs are linked to lifestyle. The choices we make everyday impact our health and our future health care costs. We can encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own health care and lifestyle decisions.

We also must do more to promote accountability within our health care system and require that our health care dollars are used effectively. Currently, 20-30% of our health care expenditures do not improve or extend life. We could save money by simply requiring better outcomes, rewarding healthy outcomes or paying for performance.

Providing a safety net for the vulnerable

For those who are not able to get or pay for health insurance in the private market, state government must help.

We need a strong, effective, compassionate health care safety net that takes care of all of our low-income and vulnerable citizens.

Tags: Dino Rossi, Health-care Reform

Category: Health-care Policy