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Surging health costs draw ire - State workers will pay more, but
less than many others Oct. 24, 2002
Hook was one of about 200 state employees who rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday, expressing anger at the rising cost of their health benefits. The rally, organized by the Washington Federation of State Employees, was timed to coincide with the start of open enrollment, the yearly period when state workers can switch or alter their health plans. 'No vacations' Health costs for state employees are rising across the board in January. All of the seven plans from which state employees can choose are increasing the average cost of full family coverage next year -- most by double-digit percentages, with amounts ranging from 9 percent to 810 percent. More limited coverage options are seeing similar increases. It's not the first year of sizable increases. Don Vaughan, an employee at the Department of Labor and Industries, said that so far in 2002, he's paid $2,600 more in health premiums for him and his wife than he did in 2001. He hasn't calculated his 2003 increase yet. "No trips, no vacations -- we can't afford any of the extra stuff," said Vaughan, who lives in Lacey. "If we were a single-income household, it would literally be an impossibility to cover these costs." Federation officials pointed out that as recently as six years ago, there were certain plans that offered state workers free health care coverage. "There should still be at least one no-cost coverage plan," said Duwayne Huffaker, president of the union. Private business leaders say it's difficult to muster much sympathy for state workers, when a 2001 nationwide survey found that the average private employee pays $200 a month for full family coverage. After the 2003 increase, enrollees in the Group Health Plan -- the state's most common insurer -- will pay $91 a month for family coverage. "This is the reality for our economy right now. It's tough," said Carolyn Logue, executive director of the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. "A lot of people are scraping by, and that has to be realized by our state employees." Logue said fewer than half of her group's members are able to offer any health insurance to their employees. State worker groups counter this argument by pointing out that unlike many workers in the private sectors, state employees got no pay raise in 2002, which means that rising health costs take a bigger bite out of their bottom line. But Logue argued that in many cases, large employers have offset pay increases with widespread layoffs. "How many people did Boeing lay off, versus how many people did the state lay off?" Logue said. Perhaps in an effort to water down such criticisms, speakers at Wednesday's rally argued for more affordable access to health care for all people, not just state workers. "If we can hold the line on health care for us, we can hold the line for everyone," Huffaker said. He urged Gov. Gary Locke and state legislators to take on the pricing practices of large insurance and drug companies, and to eliminate business tax breaks that could free up more money to keep down health costs. Experts say that it's difficult to come up with easy answers for holding the line on spiraling health costs. Dave Wasser, the spokesman for the state's Health Care Authority, pointed out that of the seven insurance companies that provide coverage to state workers, four reported operating losses last year. An aging population, increasingly sophisticated medical research techniques, increased consumer knowledge of treatment options, and litigation costs are all listed as reasons for the rising costs of health care. That seems to be of little consolation to state employees, who say they are frustrated by increasingly limited options. "Many state employees go to work every day and never know if we're going to come home in one piece," Eugene Caporale, an employee of the Maple Lane School in Rochester who was assaulted and seriously injured on the job last year, said during the rally. "We shouldn't be penalized further by an increase in our health costs. It's not fair, it's not right, and something needs to be done about it." Patrick Condon covers state government for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or pcondon@ olympia.gannett.com.
Washington Federation of State Employees: www.wfse.org |