Two years ago Washington State citizens voted against privatizing our workers’ compensation system. Sixty percent of us voted against allowing insurance companies to profit from workers’ compensation. Candidate Rob McKenna plans to ignore the people of Washington State if he is elected.
Mr. McKenna believes Washington State is one of only four states in the country with a government “monopoly” on workers’ compensation. He is wrong. In our state, if a company is big enough to insure themselves, they are allowed to do so. Employers like Boeing, Safeway, and Costco are self-insured. The Department acts as a safety net overseeing self-insured employers. Smaller employers pay into the Department of Labor & Industries based on their risk class (how dangerous is the industry) and their experience rating (how many claims their employees have had). Private insurance would rate on the same basis, but private insurance would prefer to keep the money as profit rather than pay benefits to injured workers.
Remind Mr. McKenna that the people of Washington State have already spoken on this issue and said NO to private insurance companies running our workers’ compensation system. A vote against Rob McKenna is a vote to keep our workers’ compensation system.