Please help pass universal healthcare | Letter to the editor

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A volunteer stands near the entrance to the Saturday market in Uptown Port Townsend and asks, “Would you like to sign our petition to put universal healthcare on the ballot in Washington state?” 

“Absolutely,” is the enthusiastic reply. And with the stroke of a pen we’re one signature closer to getting I-1471 on the General Election ballot in November 2023. 

I-1471 will establish a “single payer,” the Washington Health Trust, to cover the healthcare expenses of Washington State residents and will ensure universal, comprehensive coverage, free at the point of service. Essential benefits will include: inpatient/outpatient care, prescription drugs, dental, audiology and vision, mental health, reproductive care, and more. Co-pays, deductibles, premiums, medical bills, and high prescription costs will disappear. 

And, since restrictive provider networks will no longer exist, “out of network” charges will be eliminated. 

So, you’ll have more options when choosing a doctor or healthcare provider. 

The trust will be funded through a variety of revenue streams and the end result will be cost relief for the majority of Washingtonians — and health care for all. To learn more: wholewashington.org/how-we-pay-for-it/. 

Our health care system is broken. American spending on healthcare per person is more than twice the average in the world’s other 35 advanced nations. Yet the U.S. ranks near the bottom among advanced nations for life span and infant mortality. Americans are sicker, our lives are shorter, and we have more chronic illnesses. Healthcare is so expensive that many Americans put off seeing a doctor until their health has seriously deteriorated. Even with the Affordable Care Act, some 30 million Americans have no health insurance coverage at all. 

Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. Look for us at the Saturday market. Sign the petition. Volunteer to gather signatures. Together we can make this happen! 

Lori Bernstein
PORT TOWNSEND