Originally published March 13 2005
Health care trumps education, the economy as top public policy issue, Washington state poll says
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A recent poll of Washington state residents says health care is the most important public policy there is these days. Respondents to a newspaper survey said health care reform tops even education and the economy as the most pressing public issues of the day. The poll results come just as the state's governor has taken steps to keep thousands of uninsured residents in government health-care programs.
Health care is the single most important issue facing Washington state today, according to a recent statewide poll.
Health care -- affordability and access -- is ahead of the economy and public education when it comes to public concerns, according the poll of 750 registered voters conducted for the Working for Health Coalition.
Breaking down the health care concern into components, a quarter of the respondents said they are most concerned about the 590,000 people in this state without medical insurance.
Christine Gregoire has taken a couple of positive steps in the first weeks of her administration.
She directed the Department of Social and Health Services to return to 12-month eligibility review cycles, which should keep more than 19,000 children covered by insurance.
The governor also postponed collecting monthly premium payments from low-income parents whose health care expenses are covered through Medicaid.
Len McComb, former state budget director and now a spokesman for the state hospital association, said the number of uninsured children showing up at hospitals increased by 22 percent from 2002 to 2003.
The governor is pushing one bill to allow private employers to purchase health insurance through state programs.
She supports another bill to pave the way for the state to license Canadian prescription drug wholesalers.
The goal of those two bills is to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for Washington residents.
Offsetting the governor's zeal for health care solutions is the reality that state lawmakers face a $2.2 billion budget deficit.
Money for new programs will be hard to come by.
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