Friday, March 16, 2007
In this Washington CAN! e-newsletter, you will find:
- Victory: Premera withdraws bid to convert to a for-profit corporation
- “Call-In Sick Day” focuses
attention on the uninsured
- Health Insurance
Partnership
- Seattle Cancer Patient lobbies for insurance reform
Last week, Premera Blue Cross withdrew a last-ditch effort convert from a non-profit to a for-profit corporation. Washington CAN! successfully led the Premera Watch Coalition, a coalition of labor, provider, faith, and community interests, in blocking the conversion. We opposed the conversion because a profit-driven Premera would put the interests of its investers above the needs of insurance buyers and health care providers.
In 2004, Insurance Commissioner Kreidler sided with us that allowing Premera to convert would not be in the public's interest. Premera appealed the Commissioner's decision all the way to the Supreme Court. Last week, Premera dropped their appeal. This is a great victory for health care consumers.
Take a look at this Thursday's editorial in The Seattle Times.
Premera wasted $35 million in customer premiums in this ill-faited attempt to pursue profit-driven goals. If they can throw this kind of money around, and still amass hundreds of millions in excessive surplus, it's clear that it's time for insurance reform.
On February 27th, Washington CAN! activists converged on
Our members delivered every legislator a new report – The
Reality of Washington’s Uninsured. The new report debunks myths and offers
compelling facts about the uninsured. We
also offer timely recommendations for providing secure, affordable health care
for all Washington residents. It’s a
“Must-Have” for policy makers and health care activists in Washington!
Download
the report here. Also, check out The Olympian’s coverage
of our “Call-In Sick Day” rally at the Capitol!
In the past couple weeks, legislators have watered down Washington CAN! backed insurance reform legislation (HB 1569). The original legislation would have created a common health care purchasing pool for individuals, small businesses, association health plan participants, state employees and Basic Health enrollees.
Washington CAN! supports the creation of a broad health care pool of this kind to accomplish the goals of 1) ending insurance industry discrimination and 2) making quality health care affordable for individuals and small businesses. By creating a common health care pool, businesses, the state, and individuals can share in responsibility for health care. Such a partnership would gaurantee access regardless of health status or pre-existing condition and offer sliding scale assistance to low-income Washingtonians.
But, in an agreement hammered out between the bill’s sponsor and Chair of the House Health Care Committee (Rep. Eileen Cody) and the ranking Republican on the committee (Rep. Bill Hinkle), the current legislation severely limits the size of the pool, now called the "Washington Health Insurance Partnership." The Health Insurance Partnership would initially only be available to small employers providing small group coverage, leaving open the possibility to later broaden the pool and achieve greater participation.
The compromise bill passed out of the House last Saturday. It has a hearing at 1:30 PM on Monday in the Senate Health Care Committee (Cherberg Building, Hearing Room 4).Health care activists should view the current version of HB 1569
as a work in progress - a foundation upon which to build broader
reform. Washington CAN! supports the creation of a Secure
Health Insurance Partnership, even as we are fighting to expand the
pool to
guarantee access to quality health care for everyone in the state.
You can read more about the Health Insurance
Partnership in an extensive
article in The Seattle Times featuring Washington CAN! member Mike
Burchett.
In Lakewood,
Pierce County, small-business owner Mike Burchett says the state Partnership
makes sense: Bigger insurance pools lower costs for everyone in it.
Also, Northwest Public Radio featured testimony from Washington CAN! member Kent Davis at a public hearing on the legislation.
Stay tuned for upcoming actions as we continue to combat the insurance industry's power.
Cancer patient lobbies for Insurance Reform
A couple weeks ago we told you about Washington CAN! member,
Jeanne Sather, a
On March 2nd, KING 5 TV followed Jeanne to Olympia as she testified before the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Watch the coverage here!
With
over 30,000 members across the state, Washington CAN! is the
state’s largest grassroots community organization. Washington CAN! fights
for progressive social change at the local, state, and national levels, with a
focus on issues that most directly affect the lives of Washington residents.
Our mission is to achieve economic fairness in order to establish a democratic
society characterized by racial and social justice, with respect for diversity,
and a decent quality of life for those who reside in Washington State. www.WashingtonCAN.org
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