Yesterday, Everett Clinic CEO Richard Cooper wrote this letter to Representative Jay Inslee. The letter also went to Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Representative Rick Larsen.
Dear Representative Inslee:
We are writing to express our opposition to the “Public Option” proposal that is currently being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives. We are very concerned that the “Public Option” would pay the same rates as Medicare. Our experience is that Medicare rates are not sufficient to cover the costs of providing care.
As you know, Medicare pays less in Washington than it pays in other states. Providers in our state are penalized because we deliver care more efficiently.
The Everett Clinic cares for more than 28,000 Medicare patients and we just completed an independent review of our Medicare finances. Under the original Medicare fee-for-service model, we lose $464 per patient each year. This year we are projecting a loss of approximately $11.7 million treating Medicare patients. With anticipated growth in the Medicare population, it is estimated that the loss will grow to $70 million over the next five years. If these same rates are also applied to a segment of our private insurance customers, it will have a devastating effect on our bottom line and our ability to care for patients.
Under the current system, the commercial insurers in our state subsidize Medicare payments by up to 40 percent. This subsidy is essential for us continue to care for our Medicare patients. If in addition payments for private pay patients are lowered to the level currently paid for Medicare patients in Washington, the entire healthcare financing system in our state will be permanently damaged. Patients will find it difficult to access care as providers struggle to keep their doors open.
As you are aware, The Everett Clinic, along with others in our area, have received national recognition for providing high-quality, low-cost care. We believe there are ways to improve healthcare that do not involve a radical overhaul of the entire healthcare system. Instead, there should be a concerted effort to implement proven measures that will reduce costs while improving care.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our views. We look forward to discussing this issue further at your earliest convenience.
The AFL-CIO and Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) are mobilizing to push healthcare reform that is “affordable, not taxed, includes a public option, [and] requires employers to participate.”
Locally, that means the AFL-CIO and WSLC are pushing people to call Washington-elected United States Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Senator Cantwell sits on the Senate Finance Committee and Senator Murray sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. These are the two Senate committees with jurisdiction over healthcare policy.
In a release, the unions state, “Insurance companies are spending millions right now to derail historic health care reform that includes the option of strong public insurance plan. Congress needs to hear from real working families, not just insurance companies.”
Max Vekich, candidate for Seattle Port Commission Position 4, has been active in healthcare issues since he began his political career.
He has been a political activist since the age of 18, when he first became a precinct committee officer for the Democratic Party.
At 28, he was elected to the Washington State Legislature as a Democratic representative from the 35th district, which covers parts of Grays Harbor, Thurston, Mason and Kitsap counties. He spent eight years in the Legislature, 1983-1990, the last four of which he sat on the House Committee on Health Care alongside now U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell.
After being elected to the Legislature, Vekich says, he received a shocking and saddening introduction to healthcare issues when he saw five children in the Bremerton area with medical expenses that topped half a million dollars before they were even six months old.
This experience inspired Vekich’s “First Steps” legislation, passed into law in 1989.
Here is the text of a September 17th letter from Senator Maria Cantwell and 27 others to President Barack Obama about Medicare reimbursement rates.
Dear Mr. President:
As you continue working with Congress to facilitate the passage of health care reform legislation, we write to emphasize the need to realign spending in the Medicare program to focus on providing more value to beneficiaries. We support many of the Medicare payment reforms that are included in current versions of health care reform legislation, but believe additional effort must be made to get better care at a lower cost.
This morning Senator Maria Cantwell delivered a statement before the Senate Finance Committee at the beginning of mark-ups for America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, the healthcare reform package sponsored by Senator Max Baucus.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Now Mr. Chairman, I want to say that you have proved that you are truly a distance runner. This process has been like a marathon and you have kept on pace. I guess my only request is that the committee process will give the due kick to the system that we need to have at the end of this. Because I do think that we do need to make some changes and I appreciate your willingness to make those changes.
On Sunday, Senator Maria Cantwell appeared on “State of the Union with John King” and discussed Medicare reimbursements and bending the healthcare cost curve.
I just love it when she says:
“Well, you’re not going to get an argument about bending the cost curve from me because my state almost subsidizes the rest of the healthcare system because we’re so efficient and the rest of the country delivers more inefficient care.”
WASHINGTON, DC –
“I am very saddened by the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy.
He was a tour de force in American politics the likes of which we will never see again. From drawing the battle lines, to waging the campaign, Ted delivered victory after victory for the American people.
For all the Kennedy name and fame, Teddy at heart was a legislator; he simply knew how to get things done. And for nearly half a century, he was the best.
From workers rights, to health care to civil liberties, and the cause of educational opportunities there is one way to describe Ted Kennedy: our champion.
Here is video of Senator Maria Cantwell and Govornor Chris Gregoire discussing healthcare reform options with local industry leadership. The discussion took place on Tuesday, June 30th at University of Washington School of Medicine before an overflow crowd. This was the first time Senator Cantwell came out in favor of a public option.
At a far smaller-scale town hall today, President Barack Obama said, “I think a public option is affordable.” He also spoke directly to those worried about the costs of healthcare reform, saying, “If you’re a deficit hawk, you should be especially concerned about healthcare reform, because Medicare is going to be bankrupt in eight years.”
