Washington Roundtable Calls on Lawmakers to Limit Per Capita Health Care Spending
to the Average of the Western States

SEATTLE – March 7, 2005 – Washington state spends more on health care than most other states and is the leader of the nine Western states in per capita health care spending. That is the conclusion of a new Washington Roundtable Policy Brief titled, A Review of Washington State Health Care Costs. The brief uses data from the National Association of State Budget Officers to place Washington’s health care spending in context with that of other states and analyze growth in the proportion of state funds allocated to health care.

“At a time when the state faces multi-billion deficits year after year, we have to look at where the money is going. Health care spending is consuming a larger and larger portion of the state operating budget and steps must be taken to contain those costs if we want to protect other priority services such as K-12 and higher education,” said Steve Mullin, Washington Roundtable president. 

Washington is generous in its health care spending compared to other states. It leads the nine Western states in per capita spending on both Medicaid and state employee benefits. This is because eligibility requirements for Medicaid services in Washington are among the broadest in the nation. State employee benefits also are among the highest in the nation.

The brief concludes that if per capita health care spending was reduced to the average of the Western states, Washington would realize $1.26 billion in annual savings, or $2.5 billion per biennium.

“Health care spending that is more in line with those of other states would allow Washington to more reliably fund other priority programs,” Mullin said.

The Roundtable urges lawmakers to act to bring health care costs closer to those of other Western states. The brief provides suggestions for strategies that will assist in this effort.