Washington State Report Details Cost of Medically Uninsured

Excerpts from November 19, 2009 Insurance Journal(paid newsletter) Report

The number of Washingtonians with no health insurance will soon reach 1 million, according to a report issued yesterday by the state's Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.

According to the report, uncompensated care costs the average insured Washington family $917 a year.

Kreidler said we have a once in a generation opportunity to pass health care reform.

“Many people fear the costs of health care reform and I don’t blame them,” he added. “But I’ll tell you what keeps me up at night, it’s thinking about what happens if we fail. We’ll spend $33 trillion over the next decade, get the results approaching a third world country and outspend our economic competitors two to one. We simply cannot afford to fail.”read article