Key Findings

1. Senate Joint Memorial 8004 asks the federal government to enact taxpayer-financed, government-run health care or help Washington state implement its own system of taxpayer-financed care. 
2. In other government-run systems, affordability, access and quality do not go together. Individuals’ health care doesn’t benefit from taking away decisions made between doctors and patients. Citizens — not governments — are the best advocates for their health care needs. 
3. Taxpayer-financed health care leads to the rationing of care when demand outstrips supply. In 2024, physicians across Canada reported a median wait time of 30 weeks between a referral from a general practitioner and receipt of treatment, much longer than wait times in the United States.
4. Vermont abandoned its plan for a taxpayer-financed system of health care after finding the cost would be “enormous” or provide residents skimpier health coverage than most insured Vermonters already had. Officials determined an 11.5% state payroll tax and 9.5% income tax would be necessary to pay for the new health care system.
5. Safety net programs rightly exist for people in need of health care services. Creating new taxes would add to the cost of living and hurt low-income workers, some of whom already benefit from taxpayer-funded health care. 
6. Lawmakers should act to move personal decisions about health care away from the political process and closer to the patient. SJM 8004 asks the federal government to do the opposite.

Introduction

Washington state’s legislative leaders have devoted state resources toward finding a way to bring a taxpayer-financed, socialized system of health care to Washington state. Senate Joint Memorial 8004, urged along by activists hoping for such a system, and prime-sponsored by Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle, asks the federal government to “create a universal health care program or allow Washington state to implement a universal health system by reducing barriers or granting appropriate waivers.”

READ THE FULL LEGISLATIVE MEMO HERE