SEA MAR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS: A community-based model that delivers bilingual and culturally appropriate health care and social services, presented by Jesus Sánchez and Kees Kolff, MD, MPH. Watch above or click here to open in YouTube

Healthcare for All-Washington’s last 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series (2WSS) of 2025 featured Jesús Sánchez of Sea Mar Community Health Centers and Kees Kolff, MD, MPH, in a discussion about democratically run, community-based clinics and their role in creating a true health care system beyond today’s market-based model. After a land acknowledgment of Coast Salish peoples, Sánchez described growing up in farmworker housing, his mother’s transformative care at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, and how culturally and linguistically responsive community clinics build trust, improve adherence, and extend quality of life.

The speakers traced Sea Mar’s growth from a small Latino-led clinic in South Park in 1978 to a large multisite system with nearly 3,000 employees, integrated medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacies, a radio station, and significant affordable housing projects that co-locate health services. They emphasized housing, migrant worker housing, and social determinants as integral to health, and highlighted Sea Mar’s construction arm and training pipelines (medical assistant programs, residency, and a new dental training facility) as ways to “grow their own” workforce and send trained clinicians back to underserved communities.

In the policy and finance discussion, Sánchez, Kolff, and colleagues described how Medicaid underpayment, looming Medicaid cuts, and threats to the federal 340B drug discount program endanger community clinics and hospitals, forcing organizations to cross-subsidize care while still serving all patients regardless of ability to pay. They explained how 340B savings and certain Medicare/managed care models are used to offset losses, invest in equipment, sustain staff wages, and expand clinics. The meeting closed with a call to resist short-term federal attacks on safety-net programs while continuing to pursue long-term universal, non–profit-driven health care that removes for-profit “middlemen” and treats health care as a human right.

Health Care for All – Washington Next 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series
January 14, 2026 at 7:00 pm PT
RSVP for Zoom info! 

HCFA-WA 2026 Legislative Preview:
Fight for the Things You Care About

This will be a short Legislative Session – January 12th to March 12th. We will focus on protecting healthcare coverage for as many Washingtonians as we can. Protect people on Apple Health and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Protect people using the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. Protect our boards, commissions, and committees leading our state on the pathway to universal healthcare coverage. We must make healthcare more affordable and accessible for as many Washingtonians as we can. Join our Policy Committee members to see what we have done during the interim to prepare for the 2026 Legislative Session.

Cris Currie - RN, MA; Denny Dellwo; Roger Gantz; Lonnie Johns-Brown - Lobbyist; Ron Lovell; Shari McEvoy - ARNP; John Sobeck -  MD, MBA; Sherry Weinberg - MD

Universal Publicly Funded Health Care: the Answer to Skyrocketing Costs

By Marcia Stedman 

The December 11th UHCC meeting opened with Chair Vicki Lowe’s land acknowledgment honoring the Nisqually and Squaxin Island tribes, emphasizing connections between historical land loss and current healthcare disparities. This was followed by the adoption of the October meeting minutes and the written public comments received since the previous October meeting.

Strong Public Advocacy for Universal Healthcare

The Public Comments section was expanded from 15 to 35 minutes to accommodate the record number of 17 private citizens as well as members of Health Care for All-Washington and Whole Washington.  

Common themes:

Severe healthcare cost crisis

• $70/month employer plan replaced by $1200/month ACA marketplace plan when employer plan was cancelled
• Job loss resulted in a 1600% premium increase
• Increased care costs due to insurance plan cancellations and provider network limitations

Administrative burden

• 30-40% of provider time is spent on pre-authorizations vs patient care
• $2.9 billion spent annually on NCPHI (net cost of private health insurance administration and overhead), not on patient care

International comparisons

• Turkey emergency care cost: $0
• Taiwan’s single-payer system has been in place for 30 years with strong public approval

Recommended solutions

• Pass the Washington Health Trust bill
• Remove the middlemen from Medicaid administration to save Washington $757 Million - $1.28 Billion annually

Public comments can be heard on the Meeting Video from minute 06:35 through 043:42

Federal Policy Impacts and State Response - Agency Reports from Commission members

• HR1 implementation will result in 300,000 Washingtonians losing Medicaid coverage, with the Senate blocking bills extending federal subsidies.
• Joan Altman of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange warned that 15,000 additional people will lose federal tax credits in 2027.
• Representative Parshley, prime sponsor of single-payer bill HB 1445, characterized HR1 as "deadly" compared to previous budget cuts.
• The Department of Health, following Secretary Worsham's listening tour, identified four reform pillars: health justice, workforce, public health system, and healthcare system transformation.

Healthcare Cost Crisis and Data Findings presented by Vishal Chaudhry, HCA Chief Data Officer

• Washington's 2023 healthcare expenditure reached $57 billion (6.6 percent growth), exceeding the 3.2 percent affordability benchmark.  
• Nearly all market segments exceeded benchmarks:
  • 82 percent of commercial carriers
  • 80 percent of Medicare Advantage carriers.

• 80% of Medicare providers
• 63% of commercial providers

Per-member costs increased 30% between 2017-2023, driven primarily by price increases rather than utilization.

• Annual health care expenditure - $8,000 per person
• Median Washington wage ~$40,000,
• This represents 28% of median annual income per person for a four-person household.

A critical gap exists in actual primary care spending at 4 percent versus a 12 percent legislative target, particularly affecting Medicare Advantage plans.

• Different growth drivers by market:
  • Commercial: hospital outpatient spending
  • Medicare: prescription drug spending
  • Medicaid: prescription drugs and professional fees

 FTAC Update and Future Work

• Presentation on SB5083: reference-based pricing for PEBB/SEBB in rulemaking stage, implementation January 2027
• FTAC continuing provider reimbursement work:
  • Guiding principles coming to Commission February 2026
  • Draft straw proposal April 2026
• Cost driver analysis coming spring 2026 to examine price vs utilization factors by market
• Commission expanded FTAC from nine to ten members, adding Sarah Huling and Hiroshi Nakano
• Commission decided to maintain FTAC as advisory resource rather than sunset after completion of finance work

Link to Video

Meeting Materials Here

Next Meetings:

• FTAC: Thursday, January 15, 2–4:30 p.m. - Details available here closer to the date. 
• UHCC: Thurs., Feb.  12, 2026, 2-5 pm - Details available here closer to the date. 

There are two ways to share input:

For FTAC

• Speak during the designated public comment time at FTAC meetings. Sign up to provide public comment by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting occurs. 
• Submit written comments at any time.  If you submit your comments less than two weeks before a meeting, they’ll include them in the following meeting’s materials.

For UHCC

• Speak during the designated public comment time at FTAC meetings. Sign up to provide public comment by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting occurs. 
• Submite written comments at any time.  If you submit your comments less than two weeks before a meeting, they’ll include them in the following meeting’s materials.

We urge our members to push for a single payer plan in their public comments.

• Read our take on past UHCC and FTAC meetings

• Subscribe to Health Care Authority (HCA) for updates

Now Available, the Universal Health Care Commission 2025 Annual Report

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THE UHCC? 

Currently, there  are two open seats on the Commission, subject to appointment by the Governor. Candidates should have knowledge and experience regarding health care coverage, access, and financing, or other relevant expertise. Apply to Serve here

Join the Take Action Network — Make Your Voice Matter in WA LEG 2026

We invite you to join the Take Action Network (TAN), a powerful platform making it easy for Washington State voters to create real change. Whether you care about healthcare reform or other critical issues, TAN puts the tools directly in your hands to influence legislative action.

Why It Works

Dedicated volunteers analyze important legislation and track bills through the legislative process. When action is needed, you receive a simple email alert with everything ready to go—no confusion, just click and make a difference: right as a bill is introduced and as it is being voted on in the committee and on the floor of the House or Senate.  You will know the action required as your legislators make their decisions.  

Healthcare Advocacy 

Other organizations, in addition to Health Care for All-Washington, use TAN to their critical legislation. In 2025 alone, HCFA-WA supporters sent over 3,000 messages through TAN during the session, resulting in six HCFA-WA priority bills becoming law, including protections against medical debt affecting credit scores and $514,000 secured for the Universal Health Care Commission.

What You'll Gain

Up-to-date information about bills that affect universal health care and other causes you care about. You will also have ready-to-use scripts for contacting your Washington legislators. In addition, you get invitations to participate in local meetings and community events. Join thousands of activists making Washington legislators more responsive to the people.

Action Item #1

Join TAN from the Health Care For All Washington link 

Together, we can move Washington forward on the pathway to universal health care.

Action Item #2: Preserve the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits  

Congressional approved ACA Tax Credits will expire at the end of the year unless Congress extends them soon. This is the key issue over the current government shut-down. Congress enhanced the tax credits that over 200,000 Washingtonians use to get health coverage on Washington Healthplanfinder. Small business owners, part-time and gig workers, middle-income families, early retirees, and young adults use tax credits to afford their health coverage. 

Update: Four Republicans have joined Democrats in the US House of Representatives in a last-ditch effort to force a vote on extending healthcare subsidies in a last ditch effort to force a vote on extending the subsidies. This will likely happen in January, after the subsidies expire.

Learn how this would affect Washington State

Tell your Members of Congress to protect health coverage for working families and stop these enhanced premium tax credits from expiring

Action Item #3:  Thank Senator Patty Murray for her legislation to protect seniors by halting the federal pilot adding AI to Medicare Approvals

Congress is weighing action to stop the Trump administration’s WISeR pilot, set to begin in January 2026 in Washington and five other states. WISeR would raise denial rates and restrict access to needed services. Now is the moment to push back before these harmful changes take root. Email Congress about Trump’s plan to let Artificial Intelligence (AI) decide which Medicare patients get care. 

Thank you Senator Murray for your legislation to block CMS's WISeR pilot!  This program would use AI-assisted prior authorization in traditional Medicare in six states starting in 2026, and could delay or deny care, would embed financial incentives to withhold services, and represents a step toward privatizing Medicare.

Obamacare expiration will have ‘death spiral’ effect on US healthcare – experts

With expanded Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025, many Americans face sharply higher insurance premiums and greater out-of-pocket costs, likely pushing some into high-deductible plans or leaving them uninsured altogether. This could reduce access to necessary care, worsen health outcomes, especially for older and low-income adults, and strain rural hospitals as uncompensated care increases.

Anthem’s 62% Profit Margin in Federal Employees Health Benefits Contract

The OIG found that Anthem paid its own corporate sibling as if it were an outside vendor. The maneuver transformed a cost-based function into a source of "unlimited profit." More middlemen, and in this case within the same company contributes to ever increasing costs in the US Healthcare system.