Senate passes Marr bill to extend health care to uninsured children

OLYMPIA — Uninsured children across Washington are a step closer to health coverage with the Senate’s passage today of a measure to extend coverage.

Senate Bill 5093 passed the Senate on a 38-9 vote, with two excused, and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. If it passes the House, Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign it into law.

“This is why I came to Olympia,” said Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, the bill’s sponsor. “The state has made good progress in insuring our children, but we still have 73,000 kids without coverage. SB 5093 will extend coverage to another 32,000 children in the coming two years.”

Providing health care to uninsured children lowers the rates for everyone else because uninsured children wind up using emergency rooms for routine medical care, racking up exorbitant costs that are passed on to those who have insurance, Marr said. Also, he said, it is important that children receive routine checkups to diagnose serious illnesses such as spinal meningitis that can lead to permanent disabilities or even death.

“Ask anyone who works in the health-care industry, and they’ll tell you that early treatment of common health problems saves money and gives people better, healthier lives,” Marr said. “These problems undermine people’s quality of life and prevent them in many cases from reaching their potential as employees and productive members of society.”

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