Says government is not efficient enough for health care

LETTERS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

E-Mail

Print Reprint

Text Size:

tool goes here

Does government run health care deliver more health care at a lower cost? It is my understanding that in Washington state the average injured worker misses 266 days of work - nearly three times the national average. By contrast, Oregon's average time loss rate is about 70 days.

We have the highest pension rate in the nation. In fact, pension rates have increased more than 300 percent since 1996. Washington's system has the second-highest cost per employee in the nation. We provide the second-highest benefit package in the country. Since 1990, claims have dropped 55 percent, but workers' comp tax rates are more than 50 percent higher than they were 10 years ago.

Washington is one of only four states with a government monopoly that forbids private competition for industrial insurance coverage. While workers' comp taxes are falling around the country, the state Labor & Industries department has proposed a 7.6 percent hike in workers' comp taxes for 2010, the highest jump since 2003. By comparison, Oregon has not increased its rates in the last 20 years and plans to decrease their rates again next year. Washington's administration costs alone were up $39 million in the last year.