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1. hooper1961
   Member Profile

   as a very small business owner i am very chagrined to see all my tax costs go up even though there has been little inflation. both my unemployment and L and I tax rates are rising significantly in 2011 versus 2010. the extension of unemployment costs businesses money via higher rates and the failure of washington voters to allow private competition for L and I insurance left the State as the sole supplier. small businesses lose

   Posted 1 year ago #         

2. Genesee Hill
   Member Profile

   

   Yeah, I imagine if private insurance companies were allowed to provide L and I insurance, and then deny most claims, they could charge less than the state.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

3. hooper1961
   Member Profile

   on the flip side the state too easily pays claims that raises cost. a private insurer would more diligently ensure only legitimate claims are paid.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

4. JoB
   Member Profile

   hooper 1961

   or a private insurer could raise costs by denying claims out of hand and creating litigation costs..

   like health insurance does now.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

5. hooper1961
   Member Profile

   yes society is litigation happy that costs everyone money!

   Posted 1 year ago #         

6. maplesyrup
   Member Profile

   

   Yeah mine went up by a lot too. The state's justification is basically, "we're processing more claims so we have to pass it along to businesses."

   Never mind that the last time I laid someone off was in 2008 and since then I've hired 2 people. By the state's rationale I should be getting a reduction in rates, dammit.

   But I think private companies would raise our rates annually regardless. My company health insurance goes up 11-14% a year even though on the whole we're a very healthy and low maintenance group.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

7. Genesee Hill
   Member Profile

   

   hooper1961:

   "a private insurer would more diligently ensure only legitimate claims are paid".

   Methinks a private insurer would ensure that the claims they paid would protect their profit margin!

   Posted 1 year ago #         

8. JanS
   Member Profile

   

   and there's the argument, Maplesyrup. People think the gov't. is gouging them...that privatizing is the only way. Just wait until they're gouged by private insurance. As a healthcare provider who accepts insurance, and deals with insurance companies, I can guarantee you that all the money ain't going into my pocket.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

9. redblack
   Member Profile

   

   L&I insurance is an employer/employee contribution, right? unemployment rises, contributions fall.

   and you can keep your rates low by filing fewer claims (i.e. maintaining a safe work place.) correct?

   i understand that the baseline for employers will rise, but the state faces serious budgetary woes. cutting taxes won't fix that, and neither will cutting state services. there just isn't enough savings in budget cuts, and state governments are providing more and more services as the economy worsens.

   we need better revenue streams, and someone is going to have to pony up. like it or not, taxes have to rise before the economy gets better.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

10. maplesyrup
    Member Profile

    

    In my experience the rate is not affected by the rate of claims. We have never filed an L&I claim yet the rate keeps going up. Our unemployment rate went up despite the fact that I haven't laid anyone off for 2 years, and despite the fact that I've hired 2 people since.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

11. JoB
    Member Profile

    maybe 1098 was a better deal than everyone seems to have thought

    Posted 1 year ago #         

12. redblack
    Member Profile

    

    can't speak to the employer side, but on the employee side, i worked for a large construction firm (older, lots of employees, lots of claims) around 10 years ago. my L&I contribution was $.35 per hour.

    now i work for a smaller firm (newer, fewer employees, fewer claims) and my contribution is $.16 per hour.

    the older firm was paranoid about job site safety - not for employees' benefit, of course - but because "our L&I payments are killing us."

    Posted 1 year ago #         

13. Diana
    Member Profile

    Redblack is right on. Job injuries cause L&I rates to increase. Costs increase to employees as well as employers. A safe work place is the best work place. On another angle, societal costs increase as the underground economy expands, i.e., individuals who operate businesses without being licensed. They do not pay taxes, they do not cover their employees through L&I, they do not report to ESS, etc. The "cash" underground undermines everyone and we all pay for it whether you are a business owner or a consumer. Enforcement needs to be increased at the local and state level.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

14. Ken
    Member Profile

    

    Yes 1098 would have helped and no a private insurance LNI provider would only save money for those with extremely dangerous jobs to offer, since the "delay until you die" would then become imperative since the private companies first obligation is to their stockholders.

    WA state history of LNI:
    http://www.retroreform.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=64
    Note the major employers at the time were in danger of being put out of business by punitive awards from juries based on their terrible (non existent) safety practices. Large construction projects budgeted for loss of life as a cost of doing business and juries somehow valued a mans life at more than the 20 cents an hour the employers did. LNI was created at the EMPLOYERS insistence to save them from bankruptcy. Now BIAW/republicans wants out of the deal.

    LNI answers your questions.
    http://www.lni.wa.gov/news/2010/qa100512a.asp

    Note the administrative cost in WA are 17.x% as opposed to the national average of 55%. (WA is one of the few states that does not allow private insurance to offer LNI coverage.)The highest rate in private insurance states is 68% of every dollar put into the system is sucked out by administration (and CEO salaries)

    It takes hundreds of words to explain the lies republicans can tell in 10 seconds.

    The damn goal of municipal or state government operations is to do things for the common good at a cost much less than a private company can do it. The republican liars have been hammering away with their lies for 3 decades and many have fallen for it.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

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