The new Director of the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division of the King County Department of Community and Human Services, Susan McLaughlin, Ph.D. led a discussion on implementing a plan for a network of crisis care centers, the stabilization of residential treatment centers, and strengthening the behavioral health workforce. The King County Council is finalizing the legislative process to implement this plan. We had a front row seat to learn about the purpose and strategies to improve access, equity, and workforce diversity in order to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the people in our community.
We welcomed Max Lau, the Policy Manager for Health and Economic Justice for Children’s Alliance, to discuss the current state of behavioral healthcare for youth in Washington, racial and wealth equity in our state, and legislative successes and actions to overcome workforce shortage and “care deserts”.
Download/view Max's presentation here.
Max Lau's Bio: Growing up in Seattle, Max had dreams of being a pilot, race car driver, and marine biologist before finding his calling in mental health and social policy. After graduating from Western Washington University, he moved to Denver for graduate school. It was here he discovered his passion for policy and worked as a staffer for a state representative in Colorado before returning to Washington to continue his policy career in his home state. He now serves as the Health & Economic Justice Policy Manager for Children’s Alliance, where he will continue to track legislation, research policy, and contribute to the organization’s overall advocacy goals. Outside of work Max enjoys cooking, photography, and spending time with his cat Soju.
Join Health Care for All-WA as we mark Black History Month. We are honored to share the voices of retired Black nurses in our community, Frankie Manning and Vanetta Molson-Turner, at our February 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series. They shared what inspired them to dedicate their lives to the health of our community, their experiences as nurses, and participated in a Q&A. Bios below!
Frankie Manning served as a registered nurse in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. She went on to serve our community as a member of the King County Board of Health, the Washington State Board of Health, the Health Equity Research Community Advisory Council, and the Washington Center for Nursing. She worked to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in each of these roles. In 2018, she was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Nurses by the University of Washington.
Vanetta Molson-Turner was inspired by activism in the positive work of the Seattle Black Panther Party, where she participated in free breakfast programs and community development. She enrolled in nursing school to change our community by giving power to people to make those changes. She worked as a registered nurse for more than three decades, and she has followed that service with leadership roles in the NAACP and in Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action.
Health Care for All-WA's 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series of January 10, 2024, “PARTICIPATE IN THE 2024 LEGISLATIVE SESSION” is like a how-to manual for getting involved in the 2024 Legislative Session.
Some of the topics addressed:
We presents details about legislation, how to personalize a statement, how to join the Take Action Network, how to participate in the process, and much, much more! Presenters included Lonnie Johns-Brown, Ron Lovell, Denny Dellwo, Marcia Stedman, Chelo Echeverria, Emil Chang, Cris Currie, Roger Gantz, Hal Stockbridge and Ronnie Shure.
You can find the Powerpoint presentation here.
HCFA-WA's 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series (December 13, 2023) hosted a noted panel of experts to discuss Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, and their influence on American drug prices. Plus, Senator Patty Kuderer drops in to talk about her PBM bill SB 5213.
Experts: Jenny Arnold, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer of the Washington State Pharmacy Association; Trevor Douglass, DC, MPH, Pharmacy Purchasing, Policy & Program, Health Policy & Analytics, Oregon Health Authority; and Ryan Pistoresi, Pharm.D. Assistant Chief Pharmacy Officer of the Washington State Health Care Authority
Learn how Washington State may be the first in the country to offer healthcare to immigrants. Health Care for All-WA's 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series presented Health Equity for Immigrants hosted by Sasha Wasserstrom, policy director of Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. She explains how it can be done and why it improves the health care for all residents of the state.
At our Annual Educational Conference and Meeting on October 21, we welcomed several guest speakers:
★ Gabriel Levitt from Prescription Justice who has guided patients to overcome regulatory barriers to import personal prescriptions;
★ Dana Brown from The Democracy Project;
★ Karen Keiser, the President Pro Tempore of the Washington State Senate, longtime healthcare champion leading our state efforts, including Washington’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board; and
★ Lonnie Johns-Brown, HCFA-WA lobbyist
Brad Finegood from Public Health - Seattle & King County updates us on what's happening in the community with substance use and tells us about the effective steps to recovery, saving lives and making a difference every day.
For our August installment of the 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series, we welcomed guest speakers to answer questions and recap the July meeting of Oregon and Washington health care advocates. Speakers include Sandra Coyner from Health Care for All Oregon (HCAO), Marcia Stedman from HCFA-WA, Charlie Swanson from HCAO-Action, and Ronnie Shure from HCFA-WA. Plus cameos from Sam Metz and Senator Patty Kuderer, and an update from Chuck Pennachio with One Payer States!
Health Care for All-WA's 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series of May 10, 2023 discusses the recently passed My Health, My Data law (House Bill 1155) with Jon Pincus, founder of The Nexus of Privacy. View the presentation slides here.
The Health Care for All-WA April 12, 2023 presentation of The Oregon Trail to Universal Health Care with members of Oregon Joint Task Force on Universal Health Care, Warren George and John Santa, and President of Health Care for All Oregon, Tom Sincic.
For HCFA-WA's 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series presentation of March 8, 2023, our policy team presents current status of existing bills and breaks down what to expect going forward in the legislative session. Guest speakers Lonnie Johns-Brown, Denny Dellwo, Roger Gantz, Emil Chang, and Ron Lovell.
On January 11, 2023, HCFA-WA presented Health Care in Norway. Board member Sherry Weinberg and former board member Ruth Knagenhjelm interviewed a physician, a dentist, and a public health expert, all from Norway. Sarah Kaldestad is a primary care physician in Oslo, Eileen Nøstund, DDS, practiced dentistry for 40 years and Stein Emil Vollset is an MD, MPH, DrPH.
At Health Care for All-WA's 2022 Annual Educational Conference & Meeting, Gary Goldbaum, MD, led the panel discussion “Public Health in an Age of Healthcare Uncertainty” with guest panelists Umair Shah, MD, MPH, Anthony Chen, MD, MPH, and Bruce Gray, MPA.
One of the most important parts of being an ally to transgender people is learning what it means to be transgender. Fran Rourke, a member of the Diversity Alliance of the Puget Sound, an organization by and for gender diverse people joined us to present Navigating Transgender Diversity.
Download the Powerpoint here OR view/download a PDF of the presentation here.
Each of us is working to achieve universal health care, yet we are divided on the best way to change our disjointed system. Ming Chen from the Washington Poor People’s Campaign will lead us in a discussion of the underlying moral values that divide us in some areas…but unite us in others.
Presented by Sam Hatzenbeler, Health Policy Associate with the Economic Opportunity Institute. Guest speakers include Senator Emily Randall and moderator Aaron Katz, Principal Lecturer Emeritus with the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.
Health Care for All-WA welcomes Farhiya Mohamed, Executive Director and Founder of Somali Family Safety Task Force, to our 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series when she addresses Health Equity for Somali Immigrants: Community-based Solutions. Also, meet Mohamed Shidane from the Universal Health Care Commission!
...and what we can do! HCFA-WA Vice President Chris Covert-Bowlds leads this 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series. He is a family doctor and Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility climate activist.
View/download the slideshow Powerpoint
View/download the slideshow PDF
Health Care for All - WA invites you to “Meet the Universal Health Care Commission." Join us December 8th for HCFA-WA’s 2nd Wednesday Speaker Series as we talk to UHCC member Vicki Lowe, Executive Director of the American Indian Health Commission of Washington State, on what we can expect from the UHCC, plus video introductions from other UHCC members.
At HCFA-WA's 2021 Annual Meeting on November 13, Dr. Stephen Kemble presents "Insurance Industry Trojan Horses: What's Wrong with HMOs, ACOs, DCEs, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid Managed Care?", followed by Q&A. View a PDF of slides from Dr. Kemble's presentation here.
Katherine Seibel, MSSW, from the Washington state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness reviews the victories for behavioral health care in the 2021 Legislative Session and address the priorities for next year.
Panel includes Donna Sullivan, the Chief Pharmacy Officer of the Health Care Authority, Jenny Arnold, PharmD, Chief Executive Officer of the Washington State Pharmacy Association, and Janel Jorgenson from the Department of Health’s Office of Immunization.
Vicki Lowe, Executive Director of the American Indian Health Commission of Washington State, presents a fascinating overview of the history of American Indian Tribes and their relationship to the U.S. government from first contact to today, and the impact this has had on the delivery of healthcare to American Indian communities.
Senator Emily Randall (LD 26), Representative Nicole Macri (LD 43), Senator Karen Keiser (LD 33) and Senator David Frockt (LD 46) join Health Care for All - WA’s One Hour Zoom Meeting sharing their “Health Care Victories in the 2021 Legislative Session”
Our One Hour Zoom Meeting of May 12th brought in three public health leaders to discuss the data and disparities that contribute to race-class health inequities:
Bob Lutz, MD, MPH, medical advisor for COVID-19 medical response for the Washington Department of Health;
Heleen Dewey, health equity specialist with the SRHD, focuses on racial equity for better health outcomes;
Amber Lenhart, MPH, worked with the Health Impact Project, and served as the SRHD health policy specialist.
HCFA-WA welcomed Dr. David Belk on our April 14 Zoom meeting. Dr. Belk is the author of “The Great American Healthcare Scam: How Kickbacks, Collusion and Propaganda have Exploded Healthcare Costs in the U.S.”
Members of the HCFA-WA Policy Committee present mid-Session updates on important health care legislation in the 2021 Session, including bills creating the Universal Health Care Commission, improving the 'Cascade Care' plans sold on the Exchange, authorizing collaboration with other states and entities in generic prescription drug and insulin purchasing, manufacturing, and distribution, improving maternal health outcomes, and creating Health Equity Zones.
Speakers: Elaine Cox, OTR, MPP; Consuelo Echeverria - MPH; Ronnie Shure, Pharm BS; Marcia Stedman, President, Health Care for All-Washington; Ash Sasidharan, BS in Computer Science and Engineering; Sherry Weinberg, MD
The Health Care for All-Washington February 10 one-hour Work Group Findings, featuring two members of the Universal Health Care Work Group, Denny Dellwo, former chair of the Washington State House Health Care Committee and Lynnette Vehrs, MN, RN, and president of the Washington State Nurses Association, along with updates from Ronnie Shure, PharmBS and HCFA-WA Vice President, and Sherry Weinberg, M.D. and president of the HCFA Education Fund. Discussions included the findings and how we want the legislature to use the findings to expedite publicly funded universal health coverage in Washington. Q and A followed.