We’re sensing a pattern here. In 2004, the state-subsidized Oregon Health Plan had to stop enrolling new members due to money woes; the state decided to add 3,000 new members last March but had to pick them by lottery , out of a pool of about 80,000 hopefuls. In Massachusetts, the universal-coverage scheme instituted in 2006 is suffering from high costs . And in Washington state today, officials announced that rates for the state-subsidized insurance program called the Basic Health Plan will increase by an average of 70 percent by January. The goal: to cut the rolls from 100,000 members to 64,000 in order to save

money. The legislature cut $255 million from the budget for the program between 2009 and 2011, a cut of 43%. Rather than drive people away with a lottery, or based on how long they’d been on the program, higher prices would leave the decision to stay or go up to members themselves, reports the Seattle Times . State insurance programs are running into trouble across the country, giving credence to the argument we’ve been hearing a lot lately: If you’re going to expand insurance coverage, you’d better do something about costs.

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One Way to Cut Subsidized Insurance Rolls: Raise Rates