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Execution Day

Dear ETS!

After a long day of vigilling on Monday October 12, our group left the penitentiary to eat dinner and participate in a prayer service at a local church. Upon our return to the yard at 8:40 PM, a reporter referred to the decision. While we had been in church praying for the victims, the offender, and their families, the United States Supreme Court had lifted the Washington State Court stay on Jeremy Sagastegui's execution.

We had known of the possibility that the court would so rule, but I had not expected the decision so soon, and certainly did not want the highest court in the land to condone this killing. Ambiguity had become certainty; within three hours a man with severe mental illness and a childhood of mitigating circumstances would be executed.

One of the leading proponents of abolishing the death penalty could be heard saying to the reporter: "I thought Washington was a bit different, but I was wrong. Texas executes juveniles, Virginia executes foreign nationals, and Washington executes the mentally ill." Our own governor, Gary Locke, had shamelessly declared that Sagastegui did not merit leniency. Locke did not recognize and use the power he has to be merciful.

It wasn't until we were half-way home after the execution that I realized I was/felt wounded. We had not been in the chamber, but locked in an outside yard of the penitentiary where we held a nonviolent vigil. The woman who was driving us seemed intent upon putting some distance between us and that place, so we started for home at 1:00 AM. With some gentle coaxing, she finally admitted fatigue and stopped at a nondescript roadside motel at 2:00 AM.

Later that morning I methodically went through my travel bag looking for fresh clothes. I even set aside the pretty, warm scarf I had been wearing as if it were dirty and found another to protect me from the wind. Everything seemed beautiful--the blue sky, the green trees, even the brown hills held a majesty that charmed me. The quite ordinary breakfast seemed tasty. It wasn't until a few hours later that I realized I was trying to comfort myself for the loss and the simple grief that had enveloped us by finding beauty in anything, everywhere.

Unable to wash away the horror of this event, this private nighttime ritual of ruthless power, I realized how much harder it will be for us to change the laws that promote state violence, yet the work must be done. Not by just a small core of faithful, but by everyone gathering together, we can accomplish this task.

--Marie Bernard, Seattle

Poor Insurance Companies!

Maria,

I appreciate your interest in health care, but you got a few of your facts wrong regarding the state's Basic Health Plan. Actually, there is no longer a waiting list. According to the Health Care Authority, "Basic Health does not currently have a reservation list for reduced-premium coverage!" See: http://www.wa.gov/hca/Basic.htm.

You wrote: "Initially the waiting period to join was short and people could sign up at any time; private insurance plans, by comparison, typically designate one month per year as their "open enrollment period," which is the only time when people can join." In the market for individually-purchased health insurance, people can sign up at any time of the year. This is true not just in Washington, but in all states.

You also wrote: "In 1996, however, as national "welfare reform" kicked in and poor people were booted off of Medicaid, the uninsured population in Washington State swelled." To the extent that there has been an increase in the number of uninsured in Washington--and I am not aware that such an increase has been documented--it is probably primarily the result of soaring premiums and declining enrollment in the individual market. The increase in premiums and reduction in enrollment in the individual market are directly attributable to aggressive health insurance reforms passed with strong support of Democrats in 1993-95, e.g., guaranteed issue, community rating, and a 3-month limit on the waiting period for pre-existing conditions. Other states with similar reforms--e.g., New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, New Hampshire--are also experiencing serious disruptions in their markets for individually-purchased health insurance.

It's very improbable that the legislature will "do away with the state health plan altogether." In fact, Republicans have shown no interest in eliminating the BHP or even reducing its enrollment. For example, the chairmen of the House and Senate Health Care Committees both tried to expand BHP enrollment in the last legislative session. According to the HCA, the 1998 Legislature (which, as you know, is controlled by Republicans) approved $11 million in funding to increase subsidized enrollment by 8,000 new members, up to 137,200 people.

Sincerely yours,

--Jesse Malkin, Seattle

M.T. replies: As to the waiting list, the state denies that a waiting list exists; however, healthcare advocates estimate that 3,000 to 4,000 people per week sign up for subsidized coverage under the BHP. The Website for the HCA, which you mention above, admits that enrollment for subsidized care is limited. So what happens to those who can't get on the plan? Their names go on a waiting list of people who need coverage but can't get it until somebody already enrolled in the plan dies and opens up a space for them to join. The HCA Website is craftily written to remind us that there's no waiting list for certain children eligible for the Basic Health Plus Plan, for licensed foster parents, for state-contracted home care workers, or for people who want to join Basic Health and pay the full premium. But for those who need the subsidized plan, forget it. Inside the Basic Health Plan brochure it clearly states: "PLEASE NOTE: If you are applying for reduced-premium coverage, there may be a wait before you receive your application packet. As soon as space is available in the program, an application and Consumer Guide will be mailed to you."

Many private group plans have the same "open enrollment period" policy that the BHP does. For example, October 1 to October 31 is BHP's open enrollment period. It's the one time of year when current plan members can add family members to the plan. It's also the only time current plan members can switch providers. This restricted "open enrollment period" is a concession to health insurance companies, as it cuts down on their administrative costs and keeps plan members from "shopping around" for good buys and better benefits during the rest of the year.

The number of uninsured in Washington State is estimated to be at least 600,000. To blame the growth of Washington's uninsured on "insurance reforms" passed by Democrats, is pure silliness. Health care costs and insurance costs have skyrocketed because of the industry's need to make higher profits. Period. For example, the 3-month limit on waiting periods for pre-existing conditions is hated by insurance companies primarily because they don't want to insure pregnant women. It seems that younger, low-income women often go without expensive, private health insurance (which can cost as much as 1/3 to 1/2 of their monthly rent)--until they become pregnant. The 3-month limit means they can sign up for insurance, pay premiums for a few months, then get maternity benefits worth around $7,000. Private health insurers are whining about this, but it's happening because their premiums are so damn high that poor women simply do without insurance until they need it.

And, finally, the tiny increase in funding for the BHP in the last legislative session was much, much lower than what health care advocates were lobbying for, and what the state itself set as its goal for the BHP. In 1994, the state set a goal of having 200,000 people covered under the subsidized plan by the end of 1997. So far, 1998 is coming to a close, and they're still 60,000 people short of their own goal, primarily because of lack of funding from the legislature. The 8,000 new spots funded last year is nothing but a slap in the face to Washington's enormous uninsured population. Next year, when rates go up and the legislature needs to come up with ten times the amount they gave to the BHP in 1998, it'll be interesting to see what happens.