Opinion: SB 5103, to make the state pay more of its way for the health care it takes on, needs House vote

Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Elizabeth Hovde of the Washington Policy Center believes we need more competition, innovation and educated consumers to help contain health care costs, not fewer people paying for health care

Elizabeth Hovde
Washington Policy Center

It seems only right that the state pay its way for the obligations it takes on, especially as government regulations and choices continue to increase the cost of health care services. Right now, hospitals are getting stuck with many of the bills. And the cost burden is often passed onto people who purchase health care insurance and pay for services.

Senate Bill 5103, a bill sponsored by Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, concerns payments to hospitals for Medicaid patients that are difficult to discharge. It’s awaiting the full House consideration it needs to move forward.

It needs to pass so the state might take its offers for free and subsidized health care more seriously. The offers cost taxpayers and providers a lot of money. And having fewer people paying for health care is not going to end well. It’s not going well now.

Health care is a need, just as food and housing are. We shop for those needs and rightly have government safety nets in place to help the poor. We need more competition, innovation and educated consumers to help contain health care costs, not fewer people paying for health care. And we certainly can’t have the government providing “free” or subsidized care to people and then sticking hospitals with bills that are then often passed onto private payers.

SB 5103 passed the Senate unanimously on March 8 with bipartisan support. It’s also seen broad support in the House so far, passing committees needed to move along toward full House consideration. I hope to see it pass the House by tomorrow, an important bill cutoff date.

In a recent House committee meeting, Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, told his fellow lawmakers in support of the bill that it will help our hospitals cover some of their costs with people who are difficult to discharge and ease some of the burden the state is placing on them.

Also in support, Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, said, “This is just one thing that acknowledges the challenges that we have with appropriate discharges for people in acute-care hospitals,” adding, “All eyes are on us as policymakers.”

Elizabeth Hovde is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.