A bill headed to Olympia in the coming legislative session would move Washington down the path toward universal healthcare, creating building blocks to guarantee every resident access to low-cost or free primary care.
If passed, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner would have a green light to design a plan pooling existing healthcare funds to pay providers monthly rather than through fee-for-service billing.
Patty Kuderer, Washington State insurance commissioner, is bringing forward the proposal. She said investing in primary care saves people and the system money while sparing patients unnecessary suffering from advanced illness…