Rep. Inslee: McKenna Lawsuit Not the Washington Way

For Immediate Release March 23, 2010

CONTACT: Robert Kellar
(202) 226-7040


Rep. Inslee: McKenna Lawsuit Not the Washington Way

Washington, DC – This evening, Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01) released the following statement regarding news that Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna would be joining in a lawsuit to deem health insurance reform, recently passed by both the House and Senate, to be unconstitutional:

“We fought over 2,000 insurance industry lobbyists in Washington DC to protect Washingtonians health care, we shouldn’t have to fight our own Attorney General too. Stripping families of their legal rights to insurance, may be the South Carolina way, may be the insurance company way, may be the Tea Party way, but it’s not the Washington way.

“If the Rob McKenna had his way, he would remove the cornerstone of this house of health, bringing down all the rights and protections we have fought so hard to build. Rob McKenna would leave Washingtonians naked and allow insurance companies to deny them care for a preexisting condition or strip them of coverage after they get sick. That is not the Washington way. We should be disappointed that our attorney general has chosen to be in league with insurance companies and not Washingtonians.

“Rob McKenna does not know, or does not care that a significant part of this comprehensive reform includes the solution to decades of Medicare reimbursement disparity for Washington health care providers and hospitals, and more importantly a new structure for health care spending that will reward quality care, reduce the deficit and save families money.”


Rep. Inslee has served Washington State’s 1st Congressional District since 1999 and is a leading member of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee with primary jurisdiction over health care legislation. Jay is a leader of the Quality Care Coalition which negotiated language into health care reform that addresses the Medicare reimbursement disparity issue that has plagued Washington State health providers and hospitals for decades as well as action that will bend the cost curve of health care by moving Medicare away from a “fee for service” model that rewards quantity of service to a one that rewards quality of results.


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