Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Health care costs hitting harder for Washington residents

A study says many people in Washington will spend 10 percent of their income on it next year.

By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer

 More than a million people in Washington state -- about one in four adults under age 65 -- are expected to spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care next year, according to a national study released Tuesday.

The increase in health-care costs is caused by higher insurance premiums and also high deductibles, required co-payments, loss of coverage for spouses and children, and general reductions in what is covered by health insurance plans, the study says.

"The health care that used to be taken for granted is increasingly becoming unaffordable," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit health-care advocacy group.

Spending 10 percent of income on health-care costs is more than most low- and middle-class families can reasonably afford, the study says, sometimes forcing people to go into debt or refinance their home.

Their conclusions were based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Nationally, about half of the people spending 10 percent of their gross or pretax annual income on health-care costs make between $30,000 and $75,000 a year, Pollack said, underscoring the impact of these costs on the middle class.

Nearly 85 percent of individuals and families spending 10 percent of their pre-tax income on health care have health insurance.

Mounting medical bills can cause people to delay medical care or go without needed prescriptions, the study adds.

"That is a great worry," said Rick Cooper, chief executive of The Everett Clinic. "I don't think we really have a fix on what might be the unanticipated consequences" of deferring medical tests and other services.

Within two to three years, his organization hopes to have a new record-keeping system that will tell patients the cost of medical services in advance, both what insurance will pay and how much they will have to pay out of pocket, Cooper said.

Many previous studies have focused on a lack of health care for the uninsured.

The Families USA study helps document the impact of rising health-care costs on families, most of whom have health insurance, said Aaron Katz, a senior lecturer at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

The findings are part of a long-term trend of health care "being more expensive for everybody, families, businesses and governments," he said.

"What this study says is that most of the people we know may well be struggling to pay for the health care they need."

Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said that the study demonstrates the financial insecurity that Washington families are experiencing under the current health care system.

"Every 30 seconds, there is someone in the United States who files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem," he said in a statement.

Kreidler is expected to push for health insurance reform when the Legislature meets in January, spokesman Bill Ripple said.

This would include a way for the uninsured to buy insurance to help pay for catastrophic health-care costs, with the option of paying more to help pay for preventative care, health screenings, immunizations and checkups, he said.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA