Governor approves health care measure
OLYMPIA – As curious preschoolers peered over the edge of the table, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday signed a measure into law that will provide health coverage to thousands more children in Washington.
“It is our moral duty,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “It is an economic necessity that we have a healthy next generation of Washingtonians.”
The price is about $60 million over the next two years to expand coverage to an additional 38,000 children and youths under age 19. Half of that is from the state treasury; the rest is paid by the federal government.
The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, launches a new state-run health plan to cover children of families earning less than 250 percent of the poverty level. That’s $50,000 a year for a family of four.
Starting in 2009, coverage will expand to children in families living on less than 300 percent of poverty level, or $62,000 a year for the same family. Families earning $40,000 to $60,000 a year, however, would have to pay premiums for the coverage. If they can insure their children through employer-sponsored coverage, the state can help them pay those premiums.
“Today’s an important day for our kids,” said Marr. But he said it’s important that lawmakers and budget writers also follow through with other health measures, such as boosting state reimbursements for pediatricians who treat low-income kids.
Critics – mostly Republicans – were unhappy with what they see as an increasing shift to government-run health coverage. They also argued that the plan is too generous, covering kids in families earning more than the median income in many counties. That, they argued, will hurt the private insurance market.
Democrats responded that the state has a responsibility to cover as many children as it can. Children are cheap to cover, they said.
Democrats have pledged to have all children covered by 2010.
“Everyone believes in the cause,” said a jubilant House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle. “We differ in the details, but everyone believes in this.”
Roughly 4.4 percent of children in Washington have no health insurance, according to legislative research. That’s a sharp drop from 1993, when an estimated 11.4 percent didn’t.
It’s important now to get out the word of the new coverage, said Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane. Parents struggling to pay bills should get in touch with schools, nonprofit groups and churches to get help signing up for the program, she said.
“We’re not done yet,” she said.
The bill also sets goals for healthy food and physical activity in schools, including 30 minutes of physical education for students in grades one to eight.