Washington State’s Health Care Status

President Barack Obama argues that the U.S. health system must be reformed because the status quo is unacceptable and cannot be sustained. Today, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a “Health Care Status Quo” report designed to bolster that argument.

The report provides statistics on all 50 states.

Among the report’s findings on Washington state:

• Roughly 4 million people in Washington get health insurance on the job, where family premiums average $13,216, about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job.
• Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 103 percent in Washington.
• Household budgets are strained by high costs: 16 percent of middle-income Washington families spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care.
• High costs block access to care: 12 percent of people in Washington report not visiting a doctor due to high costs.
• Washington businesses and families shoulder a hidden health tax of roughly $1,300 per year on premiums as a direct result of subsidizing the costs of the uninsured.

For the full report on Washington state read on or go to www.healthreform.gov for the full report.

THE HEALTH CARE STATUS QUO:

Why Washington Needs Health Reform

Congress and the President are working to enact health care reform legislation that protects what works about health care and fixes what is broken. Washingtonians know that inaction is not an option. Sky-rocketing health care costs are hurting families, forcing businesses to cut or drop health benefits, and straining state budgets. Millions are paying more for less. Families and businesses in Washington deserve better.

WASHINGTONIANS CAN’T AFFORD THE STATUS QUO

• Roughly 4 million people in Washington get health insurance on the job, where family premiums average $13,216, about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job.
• Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 103 percent in Washington.
• Household budgets are strained by high costs: 16 percent of middle-income Washington families spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care.
• High costs block access to care: 12 percent of people in Washington report not visiting a doctor due to high costs.
• Washington businesses and families shoulder a hidden health tax of roughly $1,300 per year on premiums as a direct result of subsidizing the costs of the uninsured.

AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE IS INCREASINGLY OUT OF REACH IN WASHINGTON

• 12 percent of people in Washington are uninsured, and 70 percent of them are in families with at least one full-time worker.
• The percent of Washingtonians with employer coverage is declining: 62 percent were covered in 2007.
• Much of the decline is among workers in small businesses. While small businesses make up 77 percent of Washington businesses, only 41 percent of them offered health coverage benefits in 2006 — down 8 percent since 2000.
• Choice of health insurance is limited in Washington. Premera Blue Cross alone constitutes 38 percent of the health insurance market share in Washington, with the top two insurance providers accounting for 61 percent.

WASHINGTONIANS NEED HIGHER QUALITY, GREATER VALUE, AND MORE PREVENTATIVE CARE

The overall quality of care in Washington is rated as “Average.”

• Preventative measures that could keep Washingtonians healthier and out of the hospital are deficient, leading to problems across the age spectrum:
  • 11 percent of children in Washington are obese.
  • 19 percent of women over the age of 50 in Washington have not received a mammogram in the past two years.
  • 34 percent of men over the age of 50 in Washington have never had a colorectal cancer screening.
  • 72 percent of adults over the age of 65 in Washington have received a flu vaccine in the past year.

The need for reform in Washington and across the country is clear. Washington families simply can’t afford the status quo and deserve better. President Obama is committed to working with Congress to pass health reform this year that reduces costs for families, businesses and government; protects people’s choice of doctors, hospitals and health plans; and assures affordable, quality health care for all Americans.

Category: Health Insurance, Health-care Policy, Insurance