Senator Parlette at work as a nurse

 

 

As a cardiovascular critical care nurse, Senator Pflug knows the health care system. As a legislator, she has studied it for more than a decade. She understands that Washingtonians simply want value – access to quality care at a reasonable cost.

 

Senate Republicans have long warned that our health insurance system is in serious trouble and needs to change; but “reform” that is essentially government-run health care could make things worse – a lot worse.

Senate Republicans have introduced legislation over the past several sessions to improve access and affordability to health care insurance in Washington state. We’ve offered ideas to make health care insurance more affordable to young adults, to allow small businesses more flexibility in the plans they can choose for their workers, and to use broader insurance pools to bring down costs in the individual and small group markets.

As we struggle with both national and state health care reform, here are the principles we stand by:

Abuse and Fraud – Much of the blame for runaway costs falls on the government, which does a poor job of monitoring Medicare fraud and under-pays doctors for Medicaid, which shifts those costs to the private sector. Reform must start with government cleaning up its own inefficient, bureaucratic programs. Nurse and elderly patient 
Affordability – We must provide options for the two groups who make up most of Washington’s uninsured: 19 – 34 year olds and those who work for small businesses or are self-employed.  It is unacceptable to control costs by limiting the health care options of our senior citizens.
Access – Cost is the biggest barrier to access. Putting more people into the same inefficient system won’t work.  Government programs that don’t pay doctors the true cost of their services isn’t insurance. It simply causes doctors to avoid those patients, who must then get care in emergency rooms.
Doctor and child
Doctor consulting with patient		 Choice – Everyone deserves the high-quality care that comes from a continuous relationship with a primary care provider or “medical home.”  Patients must be allowed to make their own health care decisions after discussing the latest science with the provider of their choice
Quality – Let’s pay our providers for outcomes – for keeping patients well – not for expensive procedures.  We must not restrict access to new treatments or medications solely based on cost as other countries’ government-run programs do.
Portability – Create a new market structure that allows employees to keep the same insurance coverage between jobs.
Transparency – Require full disclosure of treatment costs and outcomes. Give patients and doctors access to clinical effectiveness research – let patients know their full range of care options.
We enthusiastically support reform that addresses all the issues we have listed above.

Where We Draw the Line: 

  1. We oppose a massive expansion of our current, inefficient
    government programs that would add a crippling tax burden
    to our economy, children and grandchildren.

 

  1. We oppose any “reform” that is paid for by denying treatments and medicines based on age or a government “value scale” to our citizens’ lives.

 

  1. We oppose any so-called “reform” that allows special interests to buy favors. We will never have cost control by protecting those who are getting rich selling Americans health care they don’t want or need.

 

 Cost of health care

We stand steadfast against any government takeover of private health coverage in Washington State.   

Many of Washington’s Democrat legislators have signed a special interest group’s letter to Congress urging adoption of a government-run health care plan.   Under the legislation they have endorsed, our state would experience a massive cost shift to young adults – making coverage for this age group even more unaffordable!  Considering that half of Washington's uninsured are healthy young adults between the ages of 19-34, this makes absolutely no sense.  

A government-run model, state or federal, also threatens to force the vast majority of citizens, who like their current plans, into a bureaucratic nightmare.  And playing musical chairs with health insurance makes it even harder to stay with the doctor of your choice.  

And our seniors could end up losing their popular Medicare Advantage plans if the proposed cuts of nearly $170 billion go through as proposed.   

Inefficient government programs also come with a high price tag.  When the bill comes due, we will all pay dearly – directly or indirectly.  Government doesn’t have any money of its own, government’s money comes from the people governed.  

If federal reform defers to states for setting up a government-run plan, we will fight alongside the citizens of this state to ensure that an already fragile health care system is not crushed with a heavy-handed government solution.  Instead, let's work together for true reform!  

Senate Republicans invite the majority party to work with us: together we must craft better solutions for our state.  While we recognize the need for flexibility and compromise, rushing to pass an ill-conceived plan is wrong and potentially disastrous.   

Instead, let's take the time to design thoughtful, fair, affordable options that guarantee all Washingtonians have access to world-class health care.  That would be impossible if we destroy the most innovative health systems in the world by smothering them under government bureaucracy.   

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