Remembering Henry Kuharic

Long-time HCFA-WA member Dr. Henry Anton Kuharic, beloved Seattle physician, humanitarian, and lifelong learner, passed away April 16, 2026, at the age of 98. Known as "the country doctor in the city," Dr. Kuharic was deeply devoted to his patients, often making house calls and treating each person with compassion and dignity. 

He helped eradicate tuberculosis on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, served internationally with US Army Project HOPE ship and the Peace Corps, and was a pioneer physician caring for patients with HIV/AIDS. He championed public health, environmental causes, and nutrition, and established the Henry A. Kuharic, M.D. Endowed Scholarship for Academic Merit at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

We greatly appreciate his contributions to HCFA-WA’s work and mission over the years.

We are building a statewide grassroots network for universal health care and we need you!

Are you a people person, a natural storyteller, or a policy wonk? Do you want to put the fun in fundraising? Do you want to use your analytical, financial, and legal skills for good? Something else?

Volunteer here!

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!

Click here to schedule a speaker

A Model to support primary care providers and improve access, equity, and quality.

Dr. Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Development in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington, Co-Director of the AIMS Center, and Director of the UW Integrated Care Training Program, is a nationally recognized expert in collaborative care and mental health integration in primary care. 

She discussed the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM), an evidence-based approach integrating mental health services into primary care to address growing behavioral health access shortages, particularly in rural areas. Developed through the landmark IMPACT trial at the University of Washington, the model embeds behavioral health care managers and psychiatric consultants within primary care teams and is built on five principles: population-based care, measurement-based treatment, team-based care, evidence-based interventions, and accountability for outcomes.

Research shows CoCM improves outcomes for depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders, and chronic pain while reducing costs and improving equity. Washington State implementation efforts include Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement pathways and workforce development initiatives such as the Behavioral Health Support Specialist role. The presentation concluded that integrating behavioral health into universally accessible primary care systems could improve outcomes, reduce disparities, and strengthen the healthcare system overall.

Watch on YouTube

Jim Thomas’s story shows how a moral journey can become a public mission. In 1982 and 1983, he joined 19 others in a 6,700-mile peace pilgrimage from the Trident submarine base in Washington to Bethlehem, walking for 20 months and averaging 15 to 20 miles a day to warn that nuclear war cannot be survived, managed, or meaningfully treated by any health system; it can only be prevented.

When he returned home to Washington, that pilgrimage led him to another truth: the hidden human cost of Hanford’s plutonium production. Hanford produced the plutonium used in the Nagasaki bomb and supplied roughly two-thirds of the plutonium used in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, while radioactive releases from 1944 to 1986 exposed an estimated 2 million people across the Northwest through air, milk, the Columbia River, soil, and food chains, often without warning to the public despite official knowledge of the risks.

This is not only a story about the past. Hanford’s contamination remains a living legacy, with cleanup costs estimated above $600 billion and work expected to continue until 2086, while plutonium itself remains dangerous for far longer, with a half-life of about 24,000 years.

Thomas’s witness also points to a larger truth: universal healthcare is not separate from the nuclear issue. A society that permits radiation exposure, keeps communities uninformed, and accepts the ongoing risk of nuclear confrontation must also build a healthcare system strong enough to protect, monitor, treat, and support every person affected by environmental contamination, military secrecy, and the public health consequences of war.

Today, the danger is still with us. The documents note that all nine nuclear-armed nations are expanding their arsenals, that major arms-control protections have collapsed, and that the United States still holds more than 90 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium even though no new plutonium production is needed for weapons.

That is why this moment demands more than remembrance. It demands conscience, courage, and action. Jim Thomas turned outrage into truth-telling, education, and democratic engagement, reminding us that hope is not passive; it is a disciplined choice practiced through public witness, community-building, support for honest journalism, and organized civic action.

Call to action

We can honor this pilgrimage by protecting life in practical ways. That means working for universal healthcare that includes long-term monitoring and treatment for radiation-exposed communities, demanding full transparency about nuclear contamination, resisting renewed nuclear arms expansion, and organizing for policies that put human survival above weapons production.[1][2]

If Hanford teaches anything, it is that the harms of plutonium do not end at the fence line, and the threat of nuclear war does not stop at national borders. A just society must guarantee healthcare for all and pursue nuclear disarmament with equal seriousness, because both are forms of human protection and both are necessary to defend present and future generations.

April Universal Health Care Commission Recap: Eyes on the goal, please!

By Elaine Cox, MPP, BSOT, HCFA-WA Board Member

“Don’t lose sight of our existing goals in these challenging times”- Senator Annette Cleveland, UHCC member and Chair of Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee

The April 30, 2026 UHCC meeting featured robust comments and discussion about the potential promises and pitfalls of instituting Universal Primary Care (UPC) in Washington, and the best use of the $250K proviso funds to do economic modeling related to the UHC work plan. The UPC proposal has strong support from several Commission members. HCFA-WA and others expressed concerns that focusing on UPC could divert critical resources and attention away from designing a true single-payer system.

A recording of the meeting on TVW can be found here.

Highlights:

Universal Primary Care (UPC) as a possible transitional step toward universal health care (UHC) was explored. The proposal was presented to the Commission in February, 2026 by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. (OIC). Discussion will be ongoing in future meetings, in both the UHCC and Financial Technical Advisory Committees. 

How to use the $250K proviso funding for economic analysis, including whether/how to use it to study UPC. Creating a workgroup to inform the decision was proposed. The Financial Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) will continue developing their proposal.

Provider Reimbursement Guiding Principles were finalized and adopted, as developed by the FTAC.

 HCFA WA engagement, along with advocacy partners, is having an impact!

Engaging with the UHCC is a top priority for HCFA WA. The Commission is crucial to achieving single payer universal health care in Washington state. 

How we engage:

• Members attend and present comments at each meeting. 
• One of our policy team members, Roger Gantz, is on the FTAC.
• We occasionally meet with individual Commissioners to exchange information, identify potential legislative opportunities, and further explain the rationale for our positions.

Examples of our impact:

• Changes proposed by HCFA WA were included in the finalized Provider Reimbursement Principles. 
• Commissioners referenced our long list of questions regarding the universal primary care model several times in today’s discussion.

For further public comments and summary of the meeting click/tap here 

May FTAC: Continued Work on Provider Reimbursement and Possible Universal Primary Care Model

by John Sobeck, MD, HCFA-WA Vice President

This month’s Finance Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) meeting focused on advancing Washington State’s universal health care discussion by refining provider reimbursement strategies, financing priorities, and implementation planning for a future universal system. Members emphasized balancing immediate reforms with the long-term goal of a unified financing and delivery structure that preserves universality while maintaining provider and hospital sustainability. Public comments strongly supported comprehensive coverage that includes dental, vision, behavioral health, and integrated primary care, while urging the committee to avoid fragmented “piecemeal” reforms and instead pursue a phased roadmap toward universal coverage.

Provider reimbursement and rural health sustainability were central themes throughout the discussion. Members debated reference-based pricing, fee-for-service, capitation, global budgeting, and hybrid reimbursement models, while expressing concern that inadequate reimbursement protections could destabilize rural hospitals, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and community clinics. The committee reviewed lessons from states such as Maryland, Vermont, and Connecticut, emphasizing the need to balance cost control, provider stability, and the principle of universality without creating excessive carve-outs or fragmented financing structures.

The meeting also focused heavily on the data and analytic infrastructure needed to support universal system planning. Members noted that the All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) alone is insufficient for accurate forecasting and rate setting, and stressed the importance of integrating systems such as ProviderOne, Milliman modeling tools, eligibility databases, and quality measurement platforms. Significant discussion centered on how to use the Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s $250,000 proviso funding, with most members favoring investment in complex system-design analysis, behavioral incentive modeling, and evaluation of expanded primary care spending rather than premature tax or financing proposals.

The meeting concluded with agreement on an iterative and collaborative path forward. FTAC plans to finalize provider reimbursement recommendations for the Universal Health Care Commission (UHCC), while developing technical appendices addressing rural health, reimbursement safeguards, and data infrastructure needs. Proposed next steps include specialized rural reimbursement workgroups, phased implementation strategies for universal primary care, and continued refinement of financing and reimbursement proposals through public feedback and commission review, with an ongoing emphasis on sustainability, rural access, and protecting vulnerable populations.

View the Meeting Materials

Watch the Meeting Video 

Next Meetings:

UHCC : Thursday, June 18th, 2026, 2–5 p.m. - Details available here closer to the date.

FTAC: Thursday, July 16th, 2026, 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.

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 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

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.