How a room of ordinary citizens maps the road to universal healthcare in real time 

by Ron Lovell, HCFA-WA Board Member and Secretary

On a Wednesday evening in July, a diverse coalition of healthcare advocates gathered on Zoom for HCFA-WA's tabling workshop—each carrying a different story, but united by a shared conviction: Washington's path to universal healthcare runs through organized, persistent citizen action.

Marcia Stedman, a veteran of the ACA battles, opened with history. John Sobeck, HCFA-WA Vice President, brought fifteen years of insurance-industry insight from the other side of the utilization-review desk. Ronnie Shure, a retired pharmacist, now steers the organization as president. Around the virtual table sat a German transplant who had lived under universal coverage, a combat medic turned public-health student, a retired physiatrist rejoining after disability, and a software consultant exhausted by private-insurance maze. Their biographies read like a cross-section of the very system they're trying to fix.

Ron Lovell's slideshow traced three decades of strategy: from the Washington Health Security Trust bill to the 2021 creation of the Universal Health Care Commission—five of its six citizen members recommended by HCFA-WA. The legislative scorecard is striking: six priority bills passed in 2025, ten in 2026, delivering insulin cost reductions, expanded immigrant healthcare, and unprecedented insurance transparency. The current playbook: shape the UHCC's design, secure federal waivers integrating Medicaid and Medicare, and establish a 2027 deadline for the commission's final report.

But the meeting's sharpest edge came in the policy discussion. HR1's Medicaid cuts and ACA funding reductions are already landing. The question hanging in the chat: how much pain before the public demands an alternative? HCFA-WA's incremental answer—unifying state employee, public employee, and Medicaid programs covering 40-50% of state healthcare spend—could leverage economies of scale while confronting corporate consolidation, exemplified by private-equity-backed ER contracts extracting dollars before patient care.

The workshop turned practical fast. Volunteers locked in shifts for Seattle's Big Day of Play (August 15) and the Washington State Fair (Labor Day weekend and September Fridays), with carpool plans forming between Olympia and Puyallup. A prep session, committee meetings, and a Take Action Network signup round out the immediate actions.

Watch the full meeting video and witness the strategy session that could reshape Washington's health future.  

Want to learn more?  Join us at our upcoming Planning Sessions:

• Tuesday, Aug. 4th - 7-8 pm - Planning for the Aug. 15th Big Day of Play
  RSVP here for Zoom info

• Wed., Aug. 19th - 7-8 pm - Planning for the WA State Fair in September RSVP here
  RSVP here for Zoom info

Interested in learning more about single payer? We have advocates throughout the state who look forward to meeting with you and sharing our vision for universal health care in Washington state. 

Let us come to you - or we can meet on Zoom. Invite your friends and family, your neighbors, church, business, community groups, legislative district party meetings - anyone!

Request a meeting here!

Why Washington’s Millionaire’s Tax Matters

At HCFA-WA’s July 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series, Beth Lindsay, Invest in Washington Now, explained why the new Millionaire’s Tax is both a tax fairness measure and an investment in the everyday needs of Washington families.

Washington’s tax code remains one of the most regressive in the nation, meaning low- and moderate-income residents pay a larger share of their income in taxes than the wealthiest households. The Millionaire’s Tax was presented as an important step toward correcting that imbalance.

The new law applies a 9.9 percent tax only to household income above $1 million. As outlined in the presentation, about 22,000 households would be affected, while 99 percent of Washingtonians would pay nothing. The measure is expected to raise about $3 billion a year once implemented.

Lindsay described how the public benefits. These include expanding the Working Families Tax Credit to 1 million more people, removing sales tax on some over-the-counter medicines and hygiene products, cutting B&O taxes for small businesses, funding free school meals for all public school students, and supporting early learning and childcare.

She also outlined the political opposition, noting that opponents have filed Initiative 645 to repeal the tax, citing “slippery slopes” arguments and concerns about wealthy residents leaving the state. Lindsay explained that the tax applies only to millionaires and argued that fears of large-scale wealth flight are not supported by experience with Washington’s capital gains tax.

For Health Care for All-Washington, the issue goes beyond tax policy alone. Ronnie Shure connected fair taxation to the larger goal of building the foundation for universal healthcare and healthier communities.

A video recording is available for viewing on HCFA-WA’s YouTube channel. Watch the recording for a full discussion of the tax, its benefits, and the campaign necessary to defend the tax and the benefits it provides for 99% of Washington’s residents. 

After watching the video, click here to learn how you can help preserve this tax fairness measure and an investment in the everyday needs of Washington families.  Pledge to vote NO on the initiative IP26-645.

Health Care for All – Washington 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series on August 12th at 7 pm:

Tamitha Shockley French from CHAS Health will share the mission and core values and history for this non-profit, federally-qualified health center that has improved access to health care to people in the Spokane area for over 30 years.

RSVP here.

There were no UHCC or FTAC meetings in July.

Next Meetings:

FTAC: Thursday, August 6th 2-4:30 p.m., Details available here closer to the date.

Comment to the 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, we’ll include them in the following meeting’s materials.

We urge our members to push to use OIC proviso funds for economic analysis focused on the entire single-payer universal healthcare system, rather than universal primary care, in their public comments.  

UHCC: Thursday, September 3rd  2–5 p.m., Details available here closer to the date.

Comment to the UHCC

• Speak during the designated public comment time at UHCC meetings. Sign up to provide public comment by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting occurs. 
• Email [email protected] at any time.  If you submit your comments less than two weeks before a meeting, they will be included in the following meeting’s materials.

We urge our members to push to use OIC proviso funds for economic analysis focused on the entire single-payer universal healthcare system, rather than universal primary care, 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

• Read our take on past UHCC and FTAC meetings

• Subscribe to the Health Care Authority (HCA) for updates

Now Available, the Universal Health Care Commission 2025 Annual Report

Join the Take Action Network

Even though the Washington  legislative session is over for 2026, 2027 is right around the corner! Stay involved as we continue to drive legislation related to a Universal, single payer health care system!

Join the Take Action Network from the HCFA-WA TAN page 

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

States Consider Charging Companies With Workers on Medicaid

In a growing movement for states to charge large employers whose workers rely on Medicaid instead of employer-sponsored health insurance, New Jersey has become the first state to enact such a fee. Supporters argue that profitable companies should help cover the public costs of insuring their workforce, while opponents warn it could discourage hiring of lower-income workers and create unintended consequences. 

How health insurers get a free pass to deny coverage from a 52‑year‑old law meant to protect worker pensions

ERISA and company-supported insurance is a barrier to universal health care. Patients in employer-sponsored health plans governed by ERISA face significant barriers when insurers deny coverage because federal law generally preempts many state consumer protection remedies. As a result, people whose care is wrongfully denied often have fewer legal options to recover damages than patients covered by state-regulated insurance plans, prompting renewed calls for stronger accountability and reforms to the ERISA appeals process.

Oregon ER doctors win a 'David and Goliath' battle against a national company

We can fight back against corporate practice of medicine! Lets support the Washington Corporate Practice of Medicine Bill in 2027! A group of local emergency physicians in Eugene successfully challenged a plan by ApolloMD to replace them after arguing the arrangement violated Oregon's strengthened corporate practice of medicine law, which limits corporate control over physician practices. Before the court ruled, PeaceHealth abandoned the transition and renewed its relationship with the local physician group, making the case an early test of Oregon's landmark law and a potential model for other states seeking to curb corporate influence in healthcare. Score one for the people!!

Trump administration to end Medicare Part D subsidy program in 2027

The Trump administration will end a Medicare Part D subsidy program at the end of 2026 that has provided billions of dollars to insurers to help restrain prescription-drug plan premiums. The change is expected to raise premiums for about half of Part D beneficiaries beginning in 2027, with KFF estimating increases could reach $20 per month for some enrollees, while CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz argues the subsidies amount to an unnecessary insurer bailout and says most beneficiaries will see increases below $10 or even lower premiums.