Citizens Health Care Study Group – SB
6333
SB 6333 proposes to establish the Washington Citizens' Work Group on Health Care. The Governor must appoint nine citizen members that include
Representatives from business, labor, health care providers, consumer groups, and experts in health care financing and health care ethics. Eight legislators are added to the work group. The work group must hold meetings in regions of the state to examine a range of health care proposals, and provide information describing
Underlying health care issues, the health care proposals under review, and principles guiding the evaluation of the proposals.
At a minimum, the work group will consider the following proposals: (1) a proposal to allow mandate-free insurance products for young adults ages 19-35, (2) a proposal to allow a health insurance exchange or connector, (3) a proposal to provide a guaranteed catastrophic benefit and preventive benefit for all residents, (4) a proposal to provide standardized coverage for all residents; and (5) a proposal to establish a single-payer system similar to the Canadian model and an approach.
The Health Care Authority must contract with a consultant to complete an economic analysis of each of the proposals, or review recently completed analysis, and a consultant to facilitate work group meetings.
The work group must provide a summary report and recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 2008. The bill is null and void if funding is not provided in
the state budget.
.SB 6333 has passed the Senate and is now being considered in the House of Representatives. IBA has several concerns about SB 6333 as they relate to small businesses which are described in the sample letter below.
You are urged to call and write your legislators regarding SB 6333. Below are sample letters. You can identify your legislators and the phone numbers by going to www.ibaw.net/legfind or by calling 1-800-562-6000.
Sample Letter To Your Representatives
Month xx, 2008
The Honorable ____________
House of Representatives
Re: SB 6333 -
Dear Representative _________:
As a small business owner from ____city name_______, I urge you to oppose SB 6333, creating a new Washington Citizens' Work Group on Health Care for the following reasons:
·
This workgroup starts over again to study
improving access to affordable health care in
· The Workgroup is made up of nine citizens. Who will they be? What will their political direction be? Will they fairly represent the interests of small businesses? There are scores of special interests with different views on health care. Selecting nine people selecting some of those special interests skews the results of this study at the beginning. Legislators, not special interest groups should make up any workgroup. That is why we strongly prefer continuing the Blue Ribbon Commission that was made up of elected officials, not a group made up of some special interests to the detriment of other special interests.
· Three of the five plans the Workgroup is directed to study are primarily government run health care plans and we in small business do not want government run health care.
· Preliminary cost estimates of several of the plans the Workgroup is directed to study have huge costs and far exceeded with small businesses and individuals citizens can afford. Why would you establish a Workgroup to study health care reforms proposals that are known to be clearly beyond the cost of citizens.
· SB 6333 will cost taxpayers over $1.1 million for a study we don’t want or need on programs we can afford at a time when our state’s tax revenues are decreasing and unnecessary state spending must be cut.
Please oppose SB 6333.
Please advise us of your position on SB 6333.
Thank you,
Sign your name
Print your name
Business name (optional)
Mailing address
City, WA Zip
Phone number (optional)