Emily Makings

School finance is not an issue only in Washington

An article from Kansas in today’s Stateline has a familiar ring to it: With no decision yet from the Kansas Supreme Court on a mammoth school-finance lawsuit, state legislators will begin their annual session amid deep uncertainty over the dominant issue of the year. Depending on what the court decides, the outcome could be anything […]

No surprises in latest Healthplanfinder report

There are no surprises in yesterday’s Washington Healthplanfinder enrollment report. Enrollments in qualified (private) health plans (QHP) dropped significantly since the last report, but that’s to be expected given that Dec. 23 was the deadline to buy coverage beginning Jan. 1. Between Oct. 1 and Jan. 2, a total of 71,205 individuals enrolled in a […]

New brief: The Best Interests of Washington's Workers' Compensation System

Washington continues to have the nation’s highest workers’ compensation benefits, which are accompanied by high costs. In a new policy brief, we look at the factors that make Washington’s system unusual, explain why the Oregon premium rate ranking study is a flawed measure of Washington’s costs, describe the cost drivers of the system, and consider […]

I-522 postscript

The Wall Street Journal reports that General Mills has begun making Cheerios free of genetically engineered ingredients. As we showed in our report, “Initiative 522: Costly, Flawed and Ill-Conceived,” genetically engineered foods are safe and widely used. I-522 would have required mandatory labeling of certain foods made with genetically engineered ingredients, but Washington voters rejected […]

From the auditor: "Regulatory Reform: Improving Permit Timeliness"

The state auditor’s office (SAO) has been working on a series of performance audits of state regulations. The first piece, an inventory of regulations, was finished in 2011, and the second piece, “Communicating Regulatory Information and Streamlining Business Rules,” was finished in 2012. (For more on these, see our 2012 policy brief, “A Complex Maze […]

The day after tomorrow for public pensions

In the Dec. 23 & 30th issue of the New Yorker, James Surowiecki writes about “deadbeat governments” and public pensions (may be behind the paywall): Pensions are supposed to be dull and reliable. But they’re now the locus of bruising political battles. . . . How did states and cities get into this jam? By […]

Washington Healthplanfinder report shows qualified health plan enrollment still well short of projections

December 23 was the deadline for people to sign up for health insurance through the Washington exchange for coverage beginning January 1. The exchange released a new enrollment report on Tuesday, saying that 50,000 people enrolled just between Dec. 20 and 23 — of which 20,000 were in qualified (private) health plans. Since October 1, […]

Charter schools will move forward, but what about levy money?

Education funding is in the news yet again: Yesterday, a Superior Court judge ruled in the case a number of groups had brought against charter schools. Approved by voters in 2012, Initiative 1240 allowed a limited number of public charter schools to be opened in Washington. (None have opened yet.) It defined them as common […]

New details on who is enrolling in insurance through the WA exchange

As I noted last week, health insurance enrollments through the Washington Healthplanfinder have been driven by Medicaid. Today the exchange has a more informative report on enrollment activity through November. Some details on the 179,330 who have enrolled: 159,186 (88.8 percent) are in Medicaid. 20,144 are in qualified (private) health plans; of those, 79.1 percent […]

Medicaid is still driving exchange enrollments, but private plans are also up this week

This week’s Healthplanfinder enrollment update shows significant increases in enrollment in qualified (private) health plans, newly eligible Medicaid, and immediate coverage Medicaid. Total enrollment through the exchange is now up to 176,468 (through November 28). Of those, 18,131 are in qualified health plans (10.3 percent). (According to the Seattle Times, “Officials project that about 130,000 residents […]