Several of us from HCFA-WA attended the galvanizing Universal Health Care Coverage Conference at the end of June. Here is Mark Dudzic's recap of the Minneapolis conference, captured from the UHCAN conference call.

Every candidate is talking about universal health care this year.

The 2019-20 sessions of our state legislature will be voting on a revised version of our bill for the Washington Health Security Trust (the WHST), so let's talk to every candidate for state office this year to make sure they are ready to approve our bill for universal healthcare for everyone in Washington state.

State Legislative Races. There are candidates for all 98 seats in the Washington State House of Representatives and 25 seats in the Senate. Candidates recognize that the people of our state want everybody in and nobody left out of the basic human right to health care. To make sure that all candidates know about this, we asked each candidate to answer a survey.

US Congressional Races. There are several bills in the US Senate and House, and national discussions have been spurred on by Representative Jayapal's introduction of a new bill for State-Based Universal Health Care. Let's make our US Senators and Representatives hear about universal healthcare.

There are candidates for all 10 seats in the US House of Representatives and 1 seat in the US Senate. We have asked each candidate for these national offices to answer a survey, too.

We will publish the candidates' responses in time for primary elections on August 7th. Watch for the opinions of candidates in your district. If you agree with their opinion, let them know it.

If you don't agree with their opinion, motivate them to change their position. If there's no reply, ask them to support universal healthcare coverage bills as shown below. Let's show up at candidate forums in your district. Let's make sure that each candidate is addressing the issue of universal health care.

Let's make it the real issue in our 2018 elections!

Watch for the results of our survey. Go and meet with candidates. Please share their response with us. Send an email to action@healthcareforallwa.org.

________________________________________________________

Ask your candidates and electeds to co-sponsor and vote in favor of:

State Bill: Bill similar to HB 1026 - Washington Health Security Trust

US Senate Bill: SB 1804 - Medicare for All (Sanders)

US Congress Bills: HR 6097 State-Based Universal Care Act (Jayapal) and HR 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act (Ellison).

Long-time HCFA-WA supporter and recently retired RN Cris Currie explains the disingenuous origins of the term "consumer-driven" to describe plans that, in fact, only shift more of the costs to the individual while further limiting coverage.

Much of what happens to hurt poor people happens in state capitols, not in the Congress. Healthcare is blocked in state capitols. Voting laws are written in state capitols. Denial of living wages happens in state capitols. Cutting money from public education happens in both federal and state, but so much of it happens at the state level -- Reverend Dr. William Barber

Join Advocates at the 2018 Healthcare-NOW! Single Payer Strategy Conference
June 22-24 - Minneapolis

Long-time HCFA-WA supporter and recently retired RN Cris Currie, who spent the last 13 years of his career in home health serving mostly Medicare and Medicaid patients, explains a common refrain: healthcare is a right.

Long-time HCFA-WA supporter and recently retired RN Cris Currie, who spent the last 13 years of his career in home health serving mostly Medicare and Medicaid patients, breaks down the 2017 Pew Research Center poll's findings that 60% of Americans believe it's the federal government’s responsibility to ensure Americans have healthcare. 

Long-time HCFA-WA supporter and recently retired RN Cris Currie, who spent the last 13 years of his career in home health serving mostly Medicare and Medicaid patients, addresses a common objection to universal/single payer healthcare: Centralization would leave us worse off than the status quo and take away choice.  

School Bus Drivers in Seattle are on strike for health care. It’s a no brainer: if we had single payer in our state, there would be no need to strike over health care coverage. The School Bus Drivers would be able to get the health care they need for themselves and their families. What would it mean if we could take health care off the bargaining table? Call First Student Bus Company at (206) 763-2222 and let them know unaffordable healthcare coverage is as good as having no healthcare coverage at all.

On January 16, HCFA-WA took to the Capitol steps in support of single payer healthcare. Senator David Frockt introduced our bill, SB5701, to the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee, and many people offered testimony in support of a single payer system. Attendees who signed in for the hearing were 59 pro, 4 against.