Health care, the economy and schools were key issues two local state representatives heard about at town hall meetings in Marysville and Everett over the weekend.
38th Legislative District Reps. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, and David Simpson, D-Everett, hosted the meetings.
One local issue that came up at both meetings involves state Department of Social and Health Services’ plans to revamp services.
"There needs to be more coordination and collaboration in the way the department delivers services," McCoy said in a news release. "We told the department that they need to talk with citizens in our county to make sure we have good quality access."
Simpson said lawmakers are working to get more funding for health care.
Another issue common to the two meetings is sending publicly funded jobs to other states or countries.
"Our state’s economy is continuing to founder," McCoy said. "And yet millions of taxpayer dollars are funding public-agency work actually done outside the country just because poorly paid workers elsewhere can do some jobs cheaper.
"We need the right balance between the desire of companies to save money — and the desire of Washington citizens to save jobs."
Simpson noted the importance of good training programs in colleges "so that people can keep up their skills — and be ready for new job requirements."
McCoy added that "it’s a lot less expensive to educate someone when they’re young than it is to incarcerate them later in life.
"We should make a strong investment in education today — or we can look forward to making a huge investment in prisons tomorrow."
Simpson said finding a balance is important in the medical malpractice issue.
"Doctors have higher and higher insurance premiums," he said. "Naturally, they’re passing the more expensive premiums on to their patients.
"In some cases, doctors are getting out of the practice altogether.
"We’ve got to find a compromise that improves patient-safety — and that respects the fact that more expensive insurance is threatening our doctors."
McCoy and Simpson said they will schedule more town hall meetings after the Legislature adjourns next month.
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