Oregon Public Broadcasting

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Out-of-pocket medical expenses are crushing some Washington families –- even though they have health insurance. A key legislative committee voted Thursday to place an overall cap on how much a family would have to pay each year.

At a recent legislative hearing, a parade of families -– some on the verge of tears -– told Washington lawmakers of their plight. The stories went like this: a chronic illness leads to expensive medications and treatments. Insurance covers some of it, but deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses mount.

Kristin McNulty has a young son with hemophilia. She told the panel her family spent $16,000 on health care last year. "We're just at a point right now where we're having to make huge sacrifices," she said. "Do you we make our medical payment or do we send our kids to pre-school?"

The proposal before lawmakers would create a single cap on out-of-pocket expenses of $12,000 a year for a family. Health insurers warn this change could increase premiums.

A similar cap is set to take effect nationally because of the federal health care overhaul. But that's not until 2014.

On the Web:

Cap on out-of-pocket medical expenses (SB 6241):

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6241&year=2011

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

Copyright 2012 N3. To see more, visit http://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/.