November 19, 2009 in City

Washington on track for 1 million uninsured

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Washington state will have more than 1 million uninsured residents by 2011, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said in Spokane this afternoon.

The uncompensated cost of providing care to that group and the underinsured will top $1 billion, according to a new study by the Insurance Commissioner’s office.

About 11 percent of Spokane residents currently lack health insurance, about even with the state rate Kreidler said.

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Six comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Jpublic on November 19 at 4:37 p.m.

  Amazing how many non english speaking people in this state are receiving state help. Lets get some real figures.

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  Diana on November 19 at 5:22 p.m.

  Interesting, your assumption, Jpublic.

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  PhiltheBibliophil on November 19 at 5:31 p.m.

  Many people assume that because you don't have insurance that you can walk into any ER and its free. Hardly, you pay 2-4 times more and then the Hospital will send bills, collection agencies, Attorney's will file judgements, Sheriff Sales will occur until you pay it or go Bankrupt. And often times if you still owe a bill and need ER again you will be denied entrance or double charged again. Everyone keeps bringing up Illegal Immigrants mainly hired by Republican Businessmen as the problem for all of our Health Care and Monetary problems. While its a problem it is only the tip of the melting iceberg of what a Catastrophe the entire Health Care Industry has become. It's killing us

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  Andrew Zahler on November 19 at 5:58 p.m.

  The Office of the Insurance Commissioner has posted the report on its Web site, and I've attached it to this story.

  http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009…

  There's a paragraph on page 7 of the report that speaks to the subject of illegal immigration:

  “Contrary to some assertions, illegal immigrants do not appear to be a major factor in the number of the uninsured. We estimate that illegal immigrants comprise, at most, 7.5 percent of our estimated total number of uninsured Washingtonians.”

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  empyrius on November 19 at 7:24 p.m.

  Yeah, it seems it is those rural conservatives, coupled with the city construction types of course, who hire all of the illegals, and then complain most vociferously about it . . .

  I am a middle-aged white dude, no insurance, had to go to the ER for the “good” ole appendix removal, and whammo, started receiving all types of bills, from the hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and one or two other related “service” providers; last I remember it was 30 thousand plus before the collection agencies started hounding me! Couple that with the fifty thousand I am being sought after for those school loans, a criminal record that will not go away, well, nobody will hire me!

  I thought us people who society no longer wants were getting some death panel action (I just don't have enough guts to slit my wrists myself)!!!!!!! Til then I guess the measure of a man is how well one lives on the street …
  

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  Rifleman__Dodd on November 19 at 11:07 p.m.

  Something needs to be done on the big/small scale in this Country/State and unfortunetly there are more people yapping about it than people whom have the will to determine what the problem is, how to solve it and then to get the politicmaticians off their duffs and get it to work.

  Talk is so cheap now days.

  Sorry emprius. I do feel your pain.

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