Improve health care

Washington State’s insurance commissioner, Mike Kreidler, has a plan to improve the health care situation in his state:guarantee citizens coverage during a health crisis.

Kreidler is currently running for a third term in his current post and even though he realizes his proposal would be a difficult sell to the state’s legislature he believes it’s an important step and a way for Washington to take a leading role in the country’s medical insurance debate.

Although the full details of his plan have not yet been released, Kreidler does want the state to provide “catastrophic” health insurance for all residents. This medical insurance would begin picking up costs once they hit $10,000 for the year. Some types of preventative care would also be included in the coverage. Anyone under the age of 65 (the age when Medicare eligibility begins) who has been a resident in the state for at least six months would be covered. Pre-existing conditions would not be covered for the first year.

To pay for the plan, Kreidler is hoping voters will approve an employment tax. Employees would pay a percentage (assumed to be about 1%) of their gross pay and businesses would pay between 2 to 5%.Although this type of coverage would not be comprehensive, it would allow consumers to purchase less expensive insurance because about 40% of all medical insurance premiums go towards this aspect of coverage.