• Date & time: Saturday, November 14, 2026, 1:00–4:00 pm
• In person: East Shore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue
• Online: Live on Zoom 

Featured Speaker: Sheldon Toubman, Disability Rights Connecticut

• What if we could deliver better care, cover more people, and save money — all at once? Connecticut did it. Sheldon Toubman helped lead the fight.

Preview our 2027 Legislative Agenda

Hear updates on our committee work

Approve officers and budgets

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 speaker here!

(but this one is the 3rd Thusday!)

British National Health Service: racial and social determinants of Health with Clarence Spigner, DrPH!
RSVP for Zoom info here!

His CV speaks for itself…

• Adjunct Professor, Global Health:
• Professor, Health Systems and Population Health;
• Adjunct Professor, American Ethnic Studies;
• Director of the Master of Public Health program, Health Systems and Population Health;
• Faculty Lead for HSPop tuition-based Undergrad elective courses, Health Systems and Population Health

Dr. Clarence Spigner will be joining Health Care for All-WA on Thursday October 15 at 7:00 PM PDT for our one-time 3rd Thursday Speaker Series. RSVP for Zoom info because you’re going to want to hear what he has to say!

All about the Financing, Again  

by Marcia Stedman, HCFA-WA Board Member

The first hour of the Commission’s Sept. 3rd meeting was devoted to another Advocates Roundtable on Financing.  It was essentially a repeat of the 2025 inaugural Roundtable on the same subject. We are disappointed that so little progress has been made in the past year on this key element of our potential universal health care system. 

The 2025 recommendations that were proposed again this year:

• Progressive public financing as the primary funding mechanism
• Elimination of point-of-service costs to remove economic barriers to care
• Employer-worker assessment model similar to current premium structures but directed toward public healthcare
• Cost containment measures including global budgeting, price caps, bulk purchasing, and streamlined administration

But there were more recommendations this year, as the 4 advocacy organizations – Health Care for All-Washington, Washington Citizen Action Network, Northwest Health Law Advocates, and Whole Washington – spoke with one voice to call for reducing middle-man profits to direct the savings to care, de-coupling health insurance from profiteers, and tax reform, noting that  to make the system work, the way we buy insurance now needs improvement. 

HCFA-WA recommends referring to p. 35 of the Meeting Materials  for Cris Currie’s list of 24 other states that are also developing UHC plans and working on financing solutions. 

On a more positive note, the Commission’s Workplan now shows the FTAC completing their finance work by the 3rd quarter of 2027, and the Commission completing their enrollment, infrastructure and governance work by that date as well. (See p. 60 of the Meeting Materials)   The Commission may even be able to make their final plan recommendation to the Legislature by the end of 2027.  

The Roundtable was followed by a 2-hour full Commission meeting with a robust discussion indicating that they may be ready to meet this ambitious timeline.

Two new well-qualified Commission members have been appointed by the Governor

• Kumhee Ro, Seattle University Associate Professor, Family Nurse Practitioner at a Federally Qualified Health Center, with health workforce expertise
• Naisha Williams, MPH, Care Coordination Program Director for the City of Seattle, focusing on health equity, population health, barriers to care, epidemiology, and emergency and disaster management.

There is another open seat subject to appointment by the Governor.  Are you interested? Apply here

Two nearly unanimous votes, with Rep. Schmick casting the lone “nay”

• Support the Universal Primary Care Finance and Payment Model

Evidently as frustrated by the slow pace of the Commission as are the Advocates, OIC Commissioner Patty Kuderer explained that her Universal Primary Care request bill is meant to accelerate the Commission’s Workplan. This work is to be funded from the OIC Regulatory Account independently from UHCC work, with updates to the Commission, and with a due date of June 30, 2028.   

• Support FTAC’S Provider Reimbursement Proposal and Roadmap

See appendices B and C (pp. 93-115), respectively, for the Proposal and Roadmap.  The vote, again, was nearly unanimous, with only Rep. Schmick voting “no.”

Unanimous Agreement on 3 Foundational Questions

The Commissioners agreed that before proceeding to work on the enrollment, infrastructure, and governance elements, they will answer these 3 Foundational Questions:

• Will the universal system be single or multi-payer?
• Do commercial carriers play any role?
• Who bears the financial risk?

Read the full, detailed report of the Roundtable here.

Next UHCC meeting:  Thurs., Oct. 15 – 2-5 pm -  Meeting materials and joining instructions 

View the Sept. 3rd Meeting Materials

Watch the Sept. 3rd Recording

FTAC September Recap: FTAC Launches Financing Work - all 9 members present

Washington’s Universal Health Care Commission Finance Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) devoted its September 24 meeting to launching the financing work needed for a universal health plan. FTAC outlined a four-stage process: establish principles and assess nonfederal revenue sources; document current health-system costs and revenues; estimate the universal plan’s cost; and assemble revenue-package options. Draft criteria for judging financing mechanisms include stability, adequacy, equity, legal viability, and simplicity. 

FTAC Members reviewed possible payroll, income, gross-receipts, sales, and other taxes, but endorsed no particular tax or package. They stressed examining who ultimately bears each tax, how proposals compare with today’s premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and whether low-income residents could pay more than under Medicaid. Analysis must also address federal funding, waivers, ERISA, transition costs, reserves, and cost containment. FTAC aims to complete its initial financing design around the second quarter of 2027, with Commission work continuing through late 2027. 

The group agreed to convene a smaller Finance Work Group consisting of Matthew Morrissey (Dept. of Revenue), Roger Gantz (experience in health care financing), Sarah Huling (expertise in health care financing), and Eddy Rauser (Office of Financial Management), to meet monthly starting in early October 2026. 

For HCFA-WA, this is a critical advocacy window. We should press for progressive, unified public financing; minimal cost-sharing; transparent distributional analysis; and a funded, auditable actuarial study. Universal primary care should remain a bridge—not a substitute—for comprehensive universal coverage. Advocates should engage FTAC’s new financing workgroup early, before assumptions and evaluation criteria become fixed.

Meeting Materials

View Meeting Video

Next Meetings:

UHCC: Thursday, October 15th  2–5 p.m., 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.  

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

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  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

HCFA-WA Does the Puyallup!

Over 6 days in September, 20 HCFA-WA volunteers reached out to State Fair attendees at the WA State Fair in Puyallup.  We had great conversations with numerous individuals and increased our supporter base by nearly 200 individuals.  

During shift breaks, we were able to enjoy the Fair’s amenities and food options, and view the farm animals, artistically arranged vegetable displays, quilts, and table decorations. On the first day, George Washington, or someone wearing his clothes, welcomed us, along with a drum corps dressed in Revolutionary garb.  One of the Fair cowboys passed by, but while we got his photo, we unfortunately did not get his contact details. 

Huge thanks to each of the volunteers who made this a very successful and fun event! 

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.

‘Stunning’ Level of Support for Universal Health Care: Jayapal

Rep. Jayapal said worsening coverage, premiums, and medical debt are fueling public anger. In the poll, 70% criticized for-profit insurers—up 8 points—and 73% viewed prescription drug companies negatively.

Single payer system would save $1 trillion, 114,000 lives annually: Yale study

How?  By adopting international reference based pharmaceutical pricing, Medicare reimbursement rates, one reimbursement system, reduced fraudulent billing, averted ER visits & hospitalizations

WA approves double-digit rate hike for individual health insurance plans

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?

Could a subscription model for healthcare cure our broken system?

The article highlights direct primary care, in which patients pay roughly 50–100 a month for primary care without insurance billing, offering easier access, longer visits, and stronger physician-patient relationships. But the model does not cover specialists, hospitalization, imaging, or major illness, and even a physician practicing it acknowledges that universal health care remains the real solution, with subscription care serving mainly as an interim alternative within a dysfunctional system.

Battle of Hospital AI vs. Insurer AI Is Pushing Medical Costs Higher

AI can suggest that Dr.'s combine treatments or conditions from different years to justify an expensive procedure, taking a cut of the additional revenues it generates, while escalating denials and appeals mean treatment delays, or outright denials for patients.