Annual Educational Conference & Business Meeting: November 14th

• East Shore Unitarian Church, 1–4 PM (hybrid: RSVP for in person or via Zoom)
• Doors open at noon with a light lunch; meeting starts at 1 PM
• Speakers:
  • Reps. Tara Simmons and Nicole Macri (longtime HCFA-WA supporters)
  • Sheldon Taubman (disability rights lawyer, Connecticut): will present Connecticut’s shift from managed care organizations to administrative organizations as a cost-saving model

Preview our 2027 Legislative Agenda

Hear updates on our committee work

Approve officers and budgets

HCFA-WA 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series October 2026 with Clarence Spigner, DrPH, UW School of Public Health: British National Health Service: racial and social determinants of Health

The NHS: A Shared Promise

Britain’s National Health Service rests on a powerful idea: healthcare is not a privilege earned through wealth, employment, or good fortune, but a responsibility shared by the whole community. Created in 1948 to provide care according to need rather than ability to pay, the NHS became part of Britain’s broader commitment to protect people “from the cradle to the grave.”

Dr. Clarence Spigner suggested that this commitment grew partly from the experience of World War II. The Blitz fostered a sense that survival depended on solidarity—we are all in this together. Whether inspired by wartime unity, noblesse oblige, or both, Britain embraced a vision of social justice based on collective responsibility. That outlook differs sharply from America’s tradition of rugged individualism and reliance on markets.

Universal access, however, did not eliminate inequality. The landmark 1980 Black Report found that class-related differences in illness and mortality persisted—and sometimes widened—despite the NHS. It concluded that income, housing, education, employment, diet, and working conditions were major causes of unequal health outcomes. American studies later reached a similarly sobering conclusion about racial inequality: gaining access to healthcare is essential, but access alone does not guarantee equal treatment or equal outcomes.

The NHS also faces serious pressures: rising costs, workforce burnout, hospital strain, an aging population, and continuing racial and economic disparities. Yet these challenges do not prove that universal healthcare is failing. They demonstrate that every healthcare system must make choices about resources, working conditions, and justice. Spigner challenged familiar claims about catastrophic waiting times and immigration-driven costs, arguing that political rhetoric too often overwhelms the evidence.

His own experience made the principle personal. After collapsing while jogging in London, Spigner received three days of attentive care at St. George’s Hospital. No one began by asking about insurance or discussing how he would pay. They began by caring for him.

That is the enduring lesson of the NHS: a healthcare system expresses a society’s values. Britain has not solved every inequity, but it has established a moral foundation—no one should be denied essential care because they cannot afford it. As one British observer said of America’s lack of universal access, “That’s not civilized.”

There are reasons for hope. Organizations such as HCFA-WA continue building the case for universal care. Younger Americans are less reflexively hostile to the language of socialized medicine, while the needs of an aging population are making collective solutions increasingly urgent. Progress begins when people reject the assumption that injustice is inevitable and recognize that healthcare can become a shared promise: when one of us needs care, all of us stand behind them.

Watch the full video including Q&A

Universal Health Care Commission October 15, 2026 Meeting Recap: HCFA-WA Priorities

By Marcia Stedman 

At its October 15, 2026 meeting, Washington’s Universal Health Care Commission advanced financing analysis while facing a threat to its survival: UHCC elimination appeared among the Health Care Authority’s (HCA’s) budget-reduction options, alongside cuts to Medicaid benefits and immigrant coverage. These were possibilities, not adopted cuts, underscoring the urgency of defending both healthcare access and the Commission’s work.

Public comments from HCFA-WA members emphasized single-payer administration rather than reliance on insurance carriers. Marcia Stedman recommended an administrative-services organization approach, citing the Uniform Medical Plan as an example, while Elaine Cox argued that single-payer would eliminate the need for many piecemeal legislative fixes.  Several commissioners expressed a preference for a state-administered single-payer goal, however, no final model was adopted and a carrier-administered transition remained under consideration.  

The commission refined the $250,000 economic-analysis appropriation and directed it toward cost-modeling frameworks, cost assumptions, and financing alternatives, including federal and nonfederal pathways. Results are expected in May 2027, with completion required by June 30. Financing workgroup discussions stressed that existing healthcare spending must count toward funding a universal system; total system costs should not be confused with new revenue requirements.  Members requested a presentation on financing options from other states, with reference made to HCFA-WA member Cris Currie’s existing list of options in 20-plus states as a resource. 

Commissioners also approved the annual legislative report, due November 1. See Appendix A of the Meeting Materials (pp. 87-117). Primary-care access legislation and a bill establishing UHCC timelines remained under development.

The Workplan of the Commission now indicates they expect to deliver their recommended plan to the Legislature by the end of 2028.   In 2027, the Commission and the FTAC will each meet quarterly, instead of bimonthly, and receive reports from smaller work groups covering enrollment, infrastructure, and governance.  

For HCFA-WA, the meeting points to immediate advocacy priorities:  (1)protect UHCC funding, (2)keep single-payer universal healthcare  as the destination, and (3)press for transparent analysis of existing spending, administrative savings, and financing options. Advocates can also reinforce the distinction between choosing an insurance plan and choosing a healthcare provider, a framing issue raised during public comment.

View the Meeting Materials

Watch the Recording

The Next FTAC Meeting is: Thursday, November 12th 2-4:30 p.m., Join on Teams

The Next UHCC meeting:  Thurs., Dec. 10 – 2-5 pm -  HCA or Join on Teams

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.  

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.  

• 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 is still one open seat 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

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 to schedule a speaker

Doctors’ offices are charging patients 10 times more by claiming to be hospitals

As hospital systems increasingly acquire independent physician practices, patients are being charged hospital-level rates and additional facility fees for routine office visits and procedures, sometimes increasing costs tenfold without any improvement in care. Nearly half of U.S. physicians now work within hospital systems, and Blue Cross Blue Shield estimates that eliminating higher hospital-based payments for identical services could save $500 billion over the next decade. Despite growing support for site-neutral payment reforms, hospital opposition and limited federal regulation have allowed these practices to continue, increasing costs for patients, employers, and insurers.

Axios-Ipsos poll:  "Medicare for All" support surges

Washington approved an average 22.2% increase for individual health insurance premiums in 2027. What’s driving the surge? Higher healthcare costs, driven by inflation, drug price increases, labor shortages, consolidation among healthcare providers, and healthy people foregoing insurance due to the cost, leaving a sicker "risk pool" needing more care. We need universal health care ASAP!

Insurers recently had to open the books on prior authorization due to new Federal regulations — and the first look is ugly: denial rates swing from 2% to 25%, most appeals win, and almost nobody appeals. Who's really deciding your care?

Schwab: Our healthcare is at the mercy of an irrational system (Opinion)

No Washingtonian should lose trusted care because corporations cannot agree on a contract. Let’s turn frustration into action: support Washington’s Universal Health Care Commission and demand a system that puts patients, not insurance profits, first.