Mark your calendar for the next meeting
Next UHCC meeting | Next Finance Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) meeting
What does the Universal Health Care Commission do?
- Creates immediate and impactful changes in health care access and the delivery system in Washington.
- Prepares the state for the creation of a health care system that provides coverage and access for all Washington residents through a unified financing system, once the necessary federal authority has become available.
- Submits annual reports to the Legislature each November.
What is HCFA-WA’s impact?
- We actively support the work of the UHCC through our relationships with allied organizations and UHCC members.
- We recommended five of the six public members of this 15-member body, including the Chair, Vicki Lowe. Click here to learn more about Commission members.
- We submit live and written public comments.
- We provide links, updates and recaps of the meetings.
Meet the Commission members at our 2nd Wednesday Speakers Series.
What you can do:
- Tell us why universal health care is important to you and what you would like the UHCC to know.
- Subscribe to Health Care Authority (HCA) for updates.
- Sign up to provide public comment by 5 p.m. the day before a UHCC or FTAC meeting occurs.
The Latest:
Level Setting at the June UHCC Meeting
by Marcia Stedman, HCFA-WA Board Member
The June 11, 2025, UHCC meeting was marked by robust public engagement, technical updates, and next steps for the Commission’s work.
A major segment of this meeting consisted of a level-setting strategy presented by David di Giuseppe, the Finance Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) liaison to the Universal Health Care Commission.
Level setting is the process of ensuring that all participants in a discussion share a common understanding of the context, goals, and expectations, getting everyone "on the same page" before moving forward with a task or conversation.
Attendance Issues
Many Commission members faithfully attend each meeting, voluntarily offering their expertise to this critical effort to prepare Washington for a universal health care system. However, after three and a half years of bimonthly meetings, the Commission has experienced significant turnover in membership. Three of the Legislative seats have been vacant for months, and some members have never attended any meetings. As a result, a major part of the June 11, 2025, session was devoted to identifying decisions made to date and those that still need to be addressed.
In a bid to increase participation and diversity in FTAC meetings, the Commission voted to add an attendance policy to the FTAC charter, calling for the possible removal of any of its members who miss 3 meetings in a calendar year or 3 consecutive meetings in a 12-month period. A similar proposal for Commission members was not presented.
Additionally, in an effort to streamline discussions, the Commission’s Finance Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC) recommended a 6-member working subgroup of 3 members from each body in order to more quickly complete their charge. Unfortunately, the public’s repeated requests to first determine an overarching Governance structure were dismissed in favor of continuing to analyze elements of our state’s existing and overstrained delivery of healthcare. The issue of Governance is especially important given the current Federal uncertainty around the continuation of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage that more than half our state residents depend upon for their health care.
Meanwhile, the Commission voiced support for
- capping hospital payments at 200% of the PEBB/SEBB rate as specified in SB 5083
- higher payments for primary care providers with details deferred to the Health Care Authority’s Multi-Payer Collaborative
- addressing concerns about excluded populations crowding out appointment slots
- Continuing to review governance structures and to revisit the timing and structure of these discussions at future meetings
Next Steps include
- refinement of cost and benefit modeling
- continued engagement with stakeholders and the public
- preparation for legislative strategy development
Near the top of the meeting, Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer reiterated her strong support for universal health care, and discussed the potential for interstate compacts as a strategy to broaden coverage and coordinate with neighboring states, such as Oregon, utilizing Section 1333 waivers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She offered to assist in assembling a joint Washington/Oregon presentation on this topic at a future Commission meeting.
View the Meeting Video
View the Meeting Materials
Future meetings
- FTAC - Thurs., July 17, 2-4:30 pm. Topics include provider reimbursement and participation in a unified system. Join us as we track this meeting - details here
- Advocates Roundtable - Tues., Aug. 5, 3-5 pm Representatives of HCFA-WA, Whole Washington, and Washington Citizens Action Network (WA-CAN) will speak about their organizations’ approaches to solving Washington’s health care crisis, joined by UHCC and FTAC members. Members of the public are welcome at this open public meeting in Olympia or via Zoom. Details here
Got something to tell the Commission? We encourage you to:
- Sign up to provide public comment by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting occurs.
- 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.
Read past recaps:
- May 2025 FTAC Meeting: Should governance be just an afterthought?
- April 2025 UHCC Meeting: Governance tops the agenda
- March 2025 FTAC Meetng: Who's on first?
- February 2025 UHCC Meeting: Rural health takes center stage
- January 2025 FTAC Meeting: What is a global budget?
- December 2024 UHCC Meeting: A glimmer of light
- November 2024 FTAC Meeting: Costs and Cost Containment
- October 2024 UHCC Meeting: Health Care in Washington: All about the money
- September 2024 FTAC Meeting: Cost and cost-sharing analysis
- August 2024 UHCC Meeting: When Will We Focus on Designing the Universal System? Is There a Timeline?
- July 2024 FTAC Meeting: Cost sharing is not the way!
- June 2024 UHCC Meeting: Administrative Simplification Round 3: Health Insurance Plans vs. the Rest of Us
- May 2024 FTAC Meeting: How does a health plan figure out the cost of its product?
- April 2024 UHCC Meeting: Washington's long & winding road to Universal Health Care is still long and winding...
- March 2024 FTAC meeting recap: Our advocacy is paying off!
- February 2024 UHCC meeting recap: The Universal Health Care Commission Needs a Reboot
- December 2023 UHCC & January 2024 FTAC Meetings
- November 2023 FTAC meeting recap: Can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear
- October 2023 UHCC meeting recap: UHCC Advocacy Pays Off; eternal vigilance is the price
- September 2023 FTAC meeting recap: All about ERISA!
- August 2023 UHCC meeting recap: Finally, a vision!
- July 2023 FTAC meeting recap: The barrier that is ERISA
- June 2023 UHCC meeting recap: The Commission is moving at a snail’s pace but help is on the way!
- May 2023 FTAC meeting recap: it was not all flowers
- April 2023 UHCC Meeting Recap: Does equity matter?
- March 2023 FTAC Meeting Recap: Transitional Solutions, Medicare Questions, and Lessons from the Indian Health Care Delivery System
- January 2023 FTAC Meeting Recap: A Lot to Like
- October 2022 Meeting Recap: Three Important Actions, Four Main Takeaways
- August 2022 Meeting Recap: Public Comments Lead the Way
- July 2022 Meeting Recap: Discussing Near Term Steps to UHC
- June 2022 Meeting Recap: Key Design Elements of a UHC System
- April 2022 Meeting Recap: Who Knew? Or Yes, It Really Is This Complicated!
- January 2022 Meeting Recap: Obviously, UHC is the best
Materials:
Universal Health Care Commission
- Read our Q&A on the UHCC
- November 2022 Report to the Legislature
- November 2023 Report to the Legislature
HCA Universal Health Care Work Group 2021
- Washington State Health Care Authority's Universal Health Care Work Group Final Report to the Legislature
- Washington State Health Care Authority's Universal Health Care Work Group Final Report slideshow
Watch our video on the report: Universal Health Care Work Group Findings Explained
Other Boards and Commissions
Health Care Cost Transparency Board
Total Cost of Insulin Work Group