Blog
July Finance Technical Advisory Committee meeting: The barrier that is ERISA
August 29, 2023
By Consuelo Echeverria The July meeting of the Financial Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) was the second of three deep dives into the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. While there is much to digest in Harvard’s Center for Health Law and Policy...
Read MoreUniversal Health Care Commission June Meeting: The Commission is moving at a snail’s pace but help is on the way!
August 28, 2023
After the start date of Nov. 30, 2021 there is a lack of momentum and urgency in creating a universal health care system. There is still no unified vision or goal and the lack of a deadline or a clear mandate from the legislature...
Read MoreMay Finance Technical Advisory Committee meeting: it was not all flowers
May 31, 2023
By Consuelo Echeverria The take-home for this meeting is keep the public comments coming to ensure that we support the members as well as make single payer a reality in Washington State. 1. Timeline Currently ERISA is on the agenda for the next five months....
Read MoreERISA and State Single-Payer Healthcare: A Primer
May 08, 2023
By Cris M. Currie, RN (ret.) The ERISA Problem The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was not originally intended to regulate healthcare, but it has still managed to derail state-based healthcare reforms for decades. Essentially it invalidates “any and all” state...
Read More2nd Wednesday Speaker Series Recap: The Oregon Trail to UHC
April 28, 2023
By Marcia Stedman Washington and Oregon are the front-runners among the 22 U.S. states with active state-based universal health care movements. There are similarities. Both WA and OR have a dedicated core group of volunteers, who have met with Legislators and organized evidence-based public...
Read MoreUniversal Health Care Commission April Meeting Recap
April 28, 2023
By Consuelo Echeverria Does equity matter? This is the question that shaped the UHCC April meeting as Dr. J, (AKA Dr. Karen Johnson) stepped in to shed some light. But first, a bit of vocabulary. This graphic demonstrates the difference between equity and equality....
Read MoreFTAC Meeting 2: Transitional Solutions, Medicare Questions, and Lessons from the Indian Health Care Delivery System
April 11, 2023
by Marcia Stedman If the devil is in the details when it comes to funding universal health care, members of the Finance Technical Advisory Committee showed they were ready to deal with the ogre in the room. At meeting #2, they tackled two important...
Read MoreThe End of Traditional Medicare?
February 06, 2023
By Cris M. Currie, RN (ret.) Traditional Medicare is once again under serious threat as this country continues to drift further off course with how it pays for healthcare. Since 1970, Congress has encouraged the privatization of the Medicare program under the guise of...
Read MoreJanuary 31, 2023
A Lot to Like: Main Takeaways from the Finance Technical Advisory Committee Meeting #1 by Marcia Stedman The Finance Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) remotely met each other and the public for the first time on January 12, 2023. We are encouraged by the experience...
Read MoreHighlights from the Oregon Joint Task Force on Universal Health Care Report
November 04, 2022
by Consuelo Echeverria The Universal Health Care Commission’s (UHCC) October meeting focused on the mandated report due Nov 1st to the Washington State Legislature. At the same time our neighbor to the south, Oregon released its Joint Task Force on Universal Health Care report...
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