Caped Crusader Reveals Secret During Health Reform Hearing


State Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum 

By Erik Smith

Staff writer/Your Healthcare Today

OLYMPIA, Oct. 1—It might come as a shock to his Cle Elum constituents, but state Rep. Bill Hinkle is Batman.

            The Republican lawmaker revealed his secret Wednesday evening during a meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee.

            “I want to say that I am Batman, for the record,” he declared.

            However, the crime-fighting solon later backtracked from the statement, and said he was just trying to make a point.

If you have trouble picturing the balding, bearded, bespectacled bow-tied legislator in a cape and cowl – and the whole idea seems silly – well, then, Hinkle said, you should have heard the presentation he sat through.

            Hinkle’s announcement followed a presentation from the state insurance commissioner’s office about a proposal for a guaranteed health-benefit plan in Washington state. It was one of the big ideas that floated through the Legislature in 2008, when it appeared Washington might enact a health-reform plan of its own.

            That plan, favored by insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler, would have provided catastrophic coverage and limited preventive care. There were extensive studies of the idea, and planning started. But you may not have heard much about it because the whole idea of health reform in Washington state was quietly dropped about a year ago.

             The recession came along and clobbered everything. The Legislature found itself with a $9 billion shortfall, and suddenly a potentially costly new program didn’t seem like such a good idea. Health reform was hardly mentioned during this year’s session. Lawmakers never even invited the insurance commissioner’s office to make a presentation. And then the Obama Administration took up the charge and the focus shifted to the other Washington.

            Insurance Commissioner Finally Gets a Hearing

            The insurance commissioner's office finally got its chance, a year late, at Wednesday's hearing. Senior health policy adviser Barb Flye was granted 17 minutes toward the end of the meeting. The consultants had produced encouraging reports, she said. And no one knows whether federal health reform will give states the ability to launch their own programs, “so I think it is still a relevant conversation to have.”

            The only problem was that Flye followed four other speakers who pointed out that the state’s budget situation remains dire. It appears lawmakers will have to trim at least another $1 billion from their two-year budget when they return to Olympia in January.

            Hinkle said he found himself sitting in his chair, wondering why he was listening to a presentation on an idea so dead and gone, so 2008.

            Batman Reveals Secret

Finally it was time for questions. He signaled Chairwoman Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, then took the floor.

            “I don’t know where to start,” he said.

            He paused for a moment.

            “I am Batman, for the record,” he said finally. “It’s almost as preposterous as what I just heard. When you talk about viable – how can you possibly sit in front of this committee and say it’s viable, given the economy, where it is? Tell me how you’re going to pay for this. You couldn’t get the votes today for that matter, but how are you going to pay for this, long-term-wise? That’s what I want to know.”

            Linville jumped in, defended Flye.

And then she looked Hinkle dead in the eye and said, “And may I just interject that if anyone has a problem with having this young lady in front of our committee, they should talk to me about it, because I very specifically wanted to have more information about what the commissioner was talking about presented in a public forum. So she’s not here to convince you. She’s here to—.”

Hinkle interrupted. “It would be nice if it was current, though. We heard this one last year. And it’s irrelevant if we’re not considering the current economic system and the revenue package – and we’re looking at another $1 billion deficit. I’d just like to have a relevant conversation, Madam Chair. That’s all. I’m sorry.”

            The committee was hushed. No one else had a thing to ask.

            Finally Linville turned to Flye. “Well, I appreciate you coming before our committee to give us some information for us to – um – be critical thinkers about.”

            Batman’s work was done.

Full Transcript

State Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham: Representative Hinkle?

State Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum: I don’t know where to start. I want to say that I am Batman, for the record. It’s almost as preposterous as what I just heard. When you talk about viable – how can you possibly sit in front of this committee and say it’s viable, given the economy, where it is? Tell me how you’re going to pay for this. You couldn’t get the votes today for that matter, but how are you going to pay for this, long-term-wise? That’s what I want to know.

Linville: She didn’t say it was viable.

Hinkle: Yes she did, she emphasized that.

Linville: It wasn’t—it was the consultant that said it was viable.

Barb Flye, Office of the Insurance Commissioner: I would just say that, in response, we have not updated the projections based on the recent trends that we are seeing, in terms of unemployment rate—.

Hinkle: So what are we talking about, then?

Flye: May I just finish the sentence, representative?

Hinkle: I just want to know what you’re talking about.

Flye: I’m going to attempt to answer your question. We’ve been looking at these numbers, and we had Milliman look at these numbers, and our economic analysts looked at these numbers – we’ve been looking at increases in the unemployed rate and health care trend costs over time, and the plan was still viable, in that the funding source raised sufficient funds for us to be able to provide that benefit. So that’s what we mean by viable. The plan is sound in terms of its mechanics and finances. I think that certainly at this point, when we’re looking at health care trends that we’re seeing and looking at increases in the unemployed rate, as we go forward, I think we would want to reexamine the numbers, and the commissioner has been very forthright in saying that he wants his guaranteed health benefit plan, if it goes forward, to be examined very closely around these issues to make sure that it’s workable. So I’m just giving you a picture of what we’ve found in terms of the analysis at the time and what Milliman found in terms of the analysis at the time.

Linville: And may I just interject that if anyone has a problem with having this young lady in front of our committee, they should talk to me about it, because I very specifically wanted to have more information about what the commissioner was talking about presented in a public forum. So she’s not here to convince you. She’s here to—.

Hinkle: It would be nice if it was current, though. We heard this one last year. And it’s irrelevant if we’re not considering the current economic system and the revenue package – and we’re looking at another $1 billion deficit. I’d just like to have a relevant conversation, Madam Chair. That’s all. I’m sorry.

Linville: Well, you heard it last year because you were on the health care committee, but others of us weren’t, and that’s been one of the problems with health care, many times the discussions stop with you, and other people have not an opportunity to be educated.

Flye: If I might, Madam Chair – we had hoped to present to the health care committee last session, the results of the Milliman and the Mathematica report, but we never ended up getting the opportunity because of what was going on with the budget discussions.

Linville: Well, I appreciate you coming before our committee to give us some information for us to – um – be critical thinkers about. Thank you.