Washington state on path to providing universal health care

by DCG

I thought Obamacare was designed to give more Americans access to affordable, quality health insurance and reduce health care costs? Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

From MyNorthwest.comWashington state’s road to universal health care continues, following the introduction of a bill in the state Legislature that would establish a fact-finding group.

If passed, SB-5822 would establish a “work group,” comprised of “a broad range of stakeholders with expertise in the health care financing and delivery system.”

That would include businesses with experience in group insurance models, health care providers and facilities, state agencies, and consumers.

The group would be tasked to “study and make recommendations to the Legislature on a universal health care system, that includes publicly funded, privately delivered health care that is sustainable and affordable to all Washington residents.”

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The bill cites data claiming that as of 2017, 400,000 Washington residents remained uninsured due to growing health care costs.

Health care is a human right and it is in the public interest that all residents have access to health care, that improves health outcomes, contains health care costs for the state and its residents, and reduces health disparities,” it reads.

The group would be required to present its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by Nov. 15, 2020. The bill is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Health and Long Term Care on Feb. 18, at 8 a.m.
This comes not long after a bill introduced by State Senator Bob Hasegawa in early-February, that would create something called the Whole Washington Health Trust.

Read the whole story here.

DCG

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