OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Washington's insurance commissioner says unpaid medical bills in the state will cost about $1 billion a year by 2011.
And many of those costs get passed along to people who do have insurance. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says the average family pays about $917 a year in added costs. He calls that a "hidden tax."
A new report from Kreidler also says there will soon be about 1 million Washingtonians without health coverage. He's advocating for national health care reform, which Republicans and Democrats are busy hashing out in Washington, D.C.
