Governor Gregoire Addresses Washington Senior Citizen Lobby Day (As Written)

February 14, 2007

Thank you to all of you here for participating in the legislative process.

We are facing a crisis in our health care system � and the federal government is leaving states to fend for themselves

I�m pleased to say that we�ve already made progress on one key health care measure � I have signed two bills this legislative session and one of them was a bill I requested that covers the gap in the payment of the federal drug co-pay.

Each month, approximately 95,000 Washingtonians take an average of seven prescriptions each and some take 15 or more. With many getting by on an income of $580 or less, these co-payments were financially devastating to many seniors and can be a barrier to health.

Changes in Medicare have been a challenge to Washingtonians who found themselves having to split, skip or go completely without life-saving medications.

This bill closes holes in prescription drug coverage for seniors and other vulnerable individuals, a hole that was left when the US Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

These are important steps, but I am concerned that many of the important steps I have proposed will be undercut by the removal of federal funding in President Bush�s budget.

Under this budget, reductions in Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals would restrict access to necessary services as providers stop taking elderly Medicare patients.

I continue to work with our Congressional delegation to fight cuts that would drastically impact Washington families and the state budget and Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell have pledged to work with me to reverse cuts that hurt our children, families and seniors.

These steps are moving us in the right direction, but we also need to do more to change the entire health care system.

Last fall, I unveiled a five-point strategy to improve quality, contain costs, and broaden access to our health care system.

  1. Increased use of evidence-based medicine.
  2. Better managing of chronic illness.
  3. Bringing our health care system into the 21st century.
  4. Taking responsibility for our personal health.
  5. Building more transparency into our system.


We�re building off of that strategy and, with the help of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Costs and Access, poised to make some targeted investments and enact legislation that will truly strengthen our health care system.

The Commission debated, deliberated, argued, discussed and toiled and, ultimately, came out with a legislative proposal that:

  • Establishes the Washington Quality Forum to address why patients receive different kinds of treatment depending on where they live;
  • Implements a health information technology system so that our medical records are available from anywhere in the state in a safe and secure way; and
  • Directs our state agencies to change the way we pay for health care by paying only for care that improves health.


By improving quality, we can also manage rising health care costs in the long-run. The bill also:

  • Expands chronic care management programs so that we can better serve the 5 percent of patients who drive 50 percent of costs;
  • Includes demonstration pilots to reduce unnecessary ER visits; and
  • Directs the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to look closely into the high administrative costs and what we can do about them.


I don�t expect that this bill alone will �solve� the health care crisis. But it is my hope that the Legislature will consider it, alongside other bills, to develop a comprehensive approach that results in higher-quality, more affordable care to more people.

I�ll take your questions now.

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