Healthcare not Warfare

Coalition conversations on healthcare reform in Everett, Spokane

EVERETT (June 25, 2024) — Recent analysis shows Americans carry more that $220 billion in medical debt, impacting nearly 1 in 12 US adults and their families. About 6.5% of Washingtonians carry medical debt, higher than our counterparts in Oregon and California. At the same time, unions across the United States are sounding the alarm on short staffing, identifying staffing shortages as a major barrier to quality care for patients as well as recruiting and retaining needed medical personnel.

A coalition of medical, labor, and community groups is facing these challenges head-on, opening a state-wide conversation about medical debt and healthcare reform. Healthcare not Warfare is a town hall series taking place around Washington State inviting Washingtonians to share their stories of navigating our healthcare system and hear from presenters on a path toward healthcare reform.

The coalition’s next town hall will be held in Everett at the Everett Library on Saturday, July 6 at 2pm. Organizers hope to foster a community conversation that uplifts patient stories, tackles false narratives around financial scarcity in our medical institutions, and reckons with the work needed to reform our healthcare system. This town hall series is sponsored by a slate of community and labor organizations, including the Washington State Nurses Association and Thurston-Lewis-Mason CLC.

The coalition will also hold a town hall at the Spokane Library on July 27 at 2pm. Details on this town hall series can be found at wholewashington.org.