Read the full Legislative Memo here

Key Findings

1. The ever-increasing cost of health care remains a serious problem within our medical delivery system.
2. HB 2457 would add a complex layer of bureaucracy to Washington state health care without a meaningful impact on costs.
3. HB 2457 does not address the underlying problem that a disinterested third-party, either government or employers, pays for the majority of health care in the United States.
4. The bill’s fiscal note projects that the board would cost over $600,000 per year.
5. Instead of creating another top-down state agency, a policy of transparent price competition combined with true patient choice would create effective incentives for providers to control costs and lower prices.

Introduction

The political right and left agree that the overwhelming problem with the United States health care delivery system is the ever-rising cost. All Americans, except those enrolled in the subsidized Medicaid entitlement program, have seen their health care expenses go up.  

States are considering multiple actions to identify cost drivers in health care and then working to reduce those costs.¹ At this point, most of these activities entail centralized data collection, although price controls seem to be gaining popularity.

This Legislative Memo examines a bill that would collect private information on health care costs in Washington state and report that information back to the governor and the legislature.

Read the full Legislative Memo here