In this issue, you'll find:

• US Congressional Races in Washington
• Schedule Your GiveBig Donation Starting April 26th
• We have a New Office!
• Healthcare News You Can Use
• Upcoming Events
• Volunteer with Us

Revving up for the Campaign Season, Part 1: US Congressional Races in Washington

Candidates are never more receptive than when they're campaigning.  Candidates are already making public appearances and will participate in candidate and issue forums when the Primary Campaign Season officially kicks off May 22nd. These are great opportunities to educate candidates about what single payer is, show them their constituents want single payer, and gauge their support or concerns.

Judging by the number of candidates, the hot congressional races are in Congressional District 8 (CD 8 is an Open Primary because Rep. Dave Reichert is stepping down), CD 5 and CD 3. To see how all the WA Congressional races are shaping up, go to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org. To find your CD, enter your zipcode here. 

What can you do? Attend events and forums featuring US Congressional candidates from now through November 9th. Wear your HCFA-WA swag to make your support visible - get your own 'Everybody In, Nobody Out' scarf and button, or t-shirt, or umbrella - check out our shiny new Swag Store!

Ask each US Senate candidate, "Will you sign on to Sanders' bill, S. 1804 - Medicare for All Act of 2017?"

Ask each US House candidate, "Will you sign on to HR 676 - Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act?"

Please thank our two incumbents, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (7th CD) and Rep. Adam Smith (9th CD) for co-sponsoring HR 676.

Ask each candidate, "Are you against future efforts like last summer's American Health Care Act (ACHA) of 2017 (HR 1628) which would weaken protection for pre-existing conditions?"

Please report back to us what you learn: [email protected]. Your feedback will inform our messaging, education and lobbying work. Please let us know about events in your CD, and we'll get the word out.

Next month- Part 2: Washington State Races

Schedule Your GiveBIG Donation to HCFA Ed Fund Beginning April 26th!

GiveBIG is a one-day, online charitable giving event May 9, 2018, designed to raise money for our region's hard-working nonprofits, like the HCFA-WA Education Fund. We hope you'll include us on your list of worthy organizations working to make life better for all Washingtonians.

Look for an email from us on April 26th with instructions on how to schedule and #GIVEBIG to the HCFA-WA Education Fund.

Thank you in advance!

Breaking News - We Have an Office! 

We just signed the lease for our first office, located at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Ballard on 65th St and 23rd Ave NW. We're very excited about this because we will have a base to work out of to launch our 2019 legislative campaign and coordinate our education activities. This is our first office, so we have so many needs, from staplers to chairs. Here's our HCFA-WA Office Wish List. We can come to you and move and transport larger items ourselves!

Email [email protected] about potential donations. We're looking forward to meeting you at our Open House after we get settled in!

In a sunny corner of our new office! L-R: HCFA-WA President Marcia Stedman, Program Director Bevin McLeod, Communications Lead Sydnie Jones, and Vice President Kelly Powers 

Healthcare News You Can Use

Articles suggested by Rich Lague, and by our readers.

Mental Gymnastics on Healthcare Vote. Both the Spokesman-Review reporter Shawn Vestal and Stranger reporter Rich Smith report that Rep. Cathy McMorris isn't forthright about her vote on the last summer's American Health Care Act of 2017 (HR 1628). Healthcare is a hot-button issue in McMorris Rogers' district (CD 5), and she has a serious challenger, Lisa Brown, so expect a lot of contortions to explain that vote.

Patient advocacy group or pharmaceutical lobbyist? The pharmaceutical industry has found a particularly creative way to justify their outrageously high prices -- they turn patients into lobbyists. They do this by giving patient advocacy groups large sums of money. Kaiser Health News explains how it works here. 

The prior authorization racket. Why do we pay more (much more,) for health care than any other nation? We frequently answer this question by referring to "high administrative costs." This article gives a good illustration of how this works in practice. "To keep up with the administrative burden, about a third of physicians (34%) rely on staff members who work exclusively on the data entry and other manual tasks needed for prior authorization." (From Medscape Prior Authorization Programs a 'Nightmare,' Need Reform: AMA. Medscape requires readers to register, but there is no cost.) Read PNHP's Don McCanne's comments on the article here. 

Sorry, the cure is bad for our very high bottom line. Gizmodo reports Goldman Sachs Analysts Question Whether Curing Patients Is Good for Business: "The trouble is, it’s hard to reap long-term profits when you’re actually curing the patients who would buy your treatment." 

Upcoming Events

• Thurs April 26: GiveBIG Advance Donation Scheduling Begins - Online
  Get a jump on your GiveBig donations and sit back and relax. Watch for an email with instructions in your Inbox.
  
  
• Sat May 6: People's March for Medicare for All - Tacoma
  (10 am - 5 pm, Wright Park, 501 South I Street - More information + a map here.)
  Join us to celebrate and show gratitude for the good work of nurses as well as the current efforts and great progress in our state to obtain health care for all Washingtonians. Wear your HCFA-WA swag, stop by our table and talk with other advocates and potential supporters, and enjoy the music and speakers! RSVP here. To volunteer, email [email protected].
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• Wed May 9: GiveBIG Day - Online
  (Midnight to Midnight)
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• Mon May 14- Fri May 18: Candidate Filing Week - Washington
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• Wed May 16: I-1600 Update - Bellingham
  (6-8 pm, St. Luke's Education Center, Room A.) 
  Vicki Rhoades, co-writer of the initiative, presents a Community Education Program sponsored by Universal Health United for National Health Care and local League of Women Voters.

Volunteer with Us!

If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about volunteering, contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Erica Nealious-Grall at [email protected]. Please include your legislative district (you can find it here) and the type of volunteering you're interested in.