— from David Turnoy —
A bill has been introduced in the state senate to bring Universal Healthcare to our state. Yay!!!!!!!!!!! We have no senator currently for you to contact, but the article below gives you some other senators you can contact. In addition, please contact our two state representatives asking them to introduce a companion measure in the House. Our two reps are Debra Lekanoff (Debra.Lekanoff@leg.wa.gov) and Jeff Morris (Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov). Here is the article from Whole Washington:
Last year we took the initiative route and gathered signatures to get I-1600 on the November 2018 ballot. We didn’t get the required number, but we built a strong base of support all across Washington State. We introduced thousands of voters to the concept of Universal Healthcare with face-to-face interactions and real human connection.
Now, in 2019, it’s time to go the legislative route and pressure our elected officials to pass Universal Healthcare legislation. That ball is rolling! On January 16th, Senator Bob Hasegawa (District 11) introduced SB 5222 which creates the Whole Washington Health Trust. This bill is based on I-1600 and retains its essential substance, including the same core benefits like dental, vision, and mental health services for every Washington state resident that enrolls.
The bill has been co-sponsored by Senator Sam Hunt (District 22) and Senator Karen Keiser (District 33). This is huge!
(Thank these Senators!)
Even more exciting is that SB5222 has funding and a transition plan! Thanks to the vital efforts of outgoing Senator Maralyn Chase, the Department of Revenue (DOR), and the Employment Security Department (ESD), the funding provisions in SB5222 can be more easily implemented within existing state frameworks.
How can you help at this very minute? There are two simple ways:
1) Help get SB5222 out of committee. Let’s contact members of the Senate Healthcare Committee and request a commitment to get this bill a hearing and out of committee. If you can call only one person on the list, call Senator Cleveland. She’s the gatekeeper and needs to hear our demands. If you have the time and energy, call them all!
- Cleveland, Annette (D) Chair (360) 786-7696
- Randall, Emily (D) Vice Chair (360) 786-7650
- O’Ban, Steve (R) Ranking Member (360) 786-7654
- Bailey, Barbara (R) (360) 786-7618
- Becker, Randi (R) (360) 786-7602
- Conway, Steve (D) (360) 786-7656
- Dhingra, Manka (D) (360) 786-7672
- Frockt, David (D) (360) 786-7690
- Rivers, Ann (R) (360) 786-7634
- Keiser, Karen (D) (360) 786-7664 (She’s already a sponsor, so thank her if you’re in the 33rd LD!)
- Van De Wege, Kevin (D) (360) 786-7646
This step has a deadline of February 22n! Here’s a fun Facebook post where you can comment ‘DONE’ after you’ve completed your call(s) and see the efforts of others doing the same thing. We’re having a real impact!
2) Ask YOUR State reps to introduce a companion bill to SB5222 in the House of Representatives. And once you do that, add a frame to your Facebook profile.
As always there’s real urgency here. Health insurance rates are slated to rise 19% this year. Fellow Washingtonians are refusing ambulance rides, cutting pills in half, rationing their insulin, and not seeking care for fear of high bills. It doesn’t have to be this way. We know Universal Healthcare can lift us up and out of our current broken system.
We need this. We deserve this. And we can do this.
Keep fighting y’all!
Whole Washington
Thank you, David for getting us again motivated to act on these very important issues. For someone like me, the time to act is immediately after reading your articles. And so I shall….
I have been following WA Healthcare for all. This organization has been working to bring this to reality. Go to their web page and help out. Also contact your representative Rick Larsen. AT this this point he is 1 of 4 reps. that have not responded to survey sent by WHCFA. The other 40 Reps are on board. Time to bring healthcare costs back to reality.
Does anyone have a short summary of how this would work?
How would this work? Here are some countries with universal health care: Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Do your homework.
How will this work?
Well, first of all it will be very, very expensive. And you will be taxed, a lot, to pay for it.
Your hard-earned income will be taxed to pay for health care for, among others, people who do not work for a living.
I would happily contribute to the health care of low-wage workers who cannot afford their own, but I balk at paying to carry non-workers.
Think critically about what you are doing.
How will this work?
“…not going to let people die on the streets” — about the only thing I ever agreed with Donald Trump on! Of course, this goes all the way back to Reagan days, when it became a law to not turn away anybody away from the emergency rooms.
So the tax payer will be paying for it one way or another. It’s just that the ER room route is much more expensive.
I think its unreasonable to ask us to push for a bill in which we do not understand whats in it or how it works.. just because its universal health care doesn’t mean its well thought out and reasonable… but maybe it is… where are the details?
Michael Zuercher, the full text of the bill as available on the link above: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5222&Initiative=false&Year=2019&link_id=1&can_id=8958e62783a555eb838e79d49c41a74e&source=email-new-statewide-universal-healthcare-bill-sb-5222-introduced-in-the-senate&email_referrer=email_482274&email_subject=new-statewide-universal-healthcare-bill-sb-5222-introduced-in-the-senate