Originally published February 17, 2012 at 3:40 PM | Page modified February 17, 2012 at 4:57 PM
Just Fix It | Reform for state budget sustainability
The Washington Legislature must enact reforms to reach sustainability. Among them: pensions, insurance coverage for teachers and the welfare system.
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The beneficiaries of those services and programs also need a break. The efficient and affordable provision of benefits and assistance assure their continuation.
A prime example is the billion-dollar health-insurance system for Washington school employees, which is ripe for overhaul. Resistance to change is intense and entrenched.
Senate Bill 6442 recommends a consolidated purchasing system that corrects coverage and cost inequities in the current, fragmented approach.
The Washington Education Association and its 50-year insurance partner, Premera Blue Cross, are mightily resisting changes called for in a state audit and a separate study.
Another example is the state pension system for public employees, which grossly subsidizes early retirement. Senate Bill 6378 would replace the subsidies with actuarially correct discounts. Senate Bill 6543 would exclude overtime earnings in setting pension benefits, ending this method of jacking up the benefit.
Another important reform would provide more tools to the Office of Fraud and Accountability to track crime across government. One target of Senate Bill 6386 is electronic benefit cards issued by the state Department of Social and Health Services.
A related area prime for scrutiny is multimillion-dollar payments for child-care services.
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