The regulatory chokehold on business is making life more and more difficult for individuals, employers and workers in our state. The chokehold has been tightened again. On Friday, Gov. Gregoire signed into law E2SHB 2319, which establishes the Washington State Health Benefit Exchange.
Do not be misled; this is not about “ensuring individuals and small businesses have accessible, affordable healthcare coverage” as you will read in her press release. This is about squeezing the life out of commercial health insurance companies and the thousands of people employed by the big three insurance carriers in the state. Accessibility is not going to be any easier and nothing the government does is affordable or within projected budgets.
One of the travesties of this new law was a last minute injection of an amendment that changed the nature of the consumer protection devices that have been in effect for decades. Instead of using licensed, certified and trained insurance professionals to assist individuals and small business owners, the law allows for unlicensed, uncertified government employees to serve as “navigators” to help individuals and small businesses through the process of selecting an insurance plan. None of these navigators need to be licensed to sell insurance or be subject to supervision and discipline by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. None have to be certified through continuing education courses and are not required to carry errors and omissions coverage.
The Affordable Care Act is not about health care. It is about the slow strangulation and eventual nationalization of all private health insurance companies, hospitals and medical providers. Gov. Gregoire and Insurance Commissioner Kreidler support this philosophy as evidenced by the signing of E2SHB 2319. If you enjoy the customer service and long lines at the Department of Licensing, then you’re going to be pleased with a national health care system. No thanks. Let’s hope the Supreme Court throws a monkey wrench in the gears of the Affordable Care Act and brings this behemoth to a stop.
Richard Ek
Everett
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