FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/20/2025
Contact: press@wholewashington.org
Press resources: www.wholewashington.org/press
Link to release: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVgVKQxoHe12IL0XUaN13tL5QAPhpaH0vIrMlAfvrx8/edit?tab=t.0
New Appointments to Universal Health Care Commission Could Have Significant Impact on Progress Towards Universal Healthcare in Washington
Olympia, WA – The Washington State Universal Healthcare Commission (UHCC) is undergoing changes to its personnel as terms expire and new members are appointed this summer. Just last month Representative Lisa Parshley was appointed by House leadership to fill the vacancy left by Marcus Riccelli with his election to the state Senate. In a surprise announcement at the August 5th Advocate’s Round Table, a first of its kind meeting with public advocates with the UHCC, Senator Annette Cleveland was announced to be soon-to-fill the vacancy left by Emily Randall elected to US Congress last year.
Formed in 2021 with the passage of SB.5399, the UHCC’s fifteen members are are chartered to:
- “Implement immediate and impactful changes in the state’s current health care system to increase access to quality, affordable health care”
- “Establish the preliminary infrastructure to create a universal health system, including a unified financing system”
While the UHCC has always had a representative from each major party for both chambers of the state legislature, the appointment of Parshley and presumptive appointment of Cleveland represent a potentially significant shift from precedent.
Representative Lisa Parshley is a freshman legislator, a member of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee, and the prime sponsor of the Washington Health Trust (HB.1445/SB.52533) in the Washington House of Representatives, currently the only universal healthcare bill in the legislature which had its debut in the House January of this year. With her appointment to the UHCC from Speaker Laurie Jinkins, Parshley is positioned to be a powerful advocate for the most ambitious and comprehensive healthcare proposal currently on the table.
Senator Annette Cleveland has been Chair of the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee since 2018 and was a key player in the original creation of the UHCC itself. Her seat will require an official appointment from Senate President (and Lt. Governor) Denny Heck with current information indicating that this appointment is all but assured. It would be the first time the Health & Long Term Care Committee Chair has sat on the commission directly which is important since they have sole discretion over whether or not bills like the Washington Health Trust are given a public hearing or Committee vote. Her presence could allow for more rapid policy development and passage through the Senate.
Parshley and Cleveland would join Patty Kuderer, elected as Insurance Commissioner last year granting her a seat on the UHCC. An outspoken advocate for universal healthcare, Kuderer cosponsored a previous version of the Washington Health Trust (introduced in 2021 as SB.5204).
Between the three of them the UHCC is gaining what appears to be a critical mass of political power and legislative momentum four years into its establishment. Whether or not this ultimately leads Washington to universal healthcare faster is up to the UHCC and the legislature.
“The majority of Washingtonians have rejected market-based approaches to healthcare and believe it is the legislature’s responsibility to cover everyone and control costs. Now is the time for universal healthcare, and Washington is the place,” said Andre Stackhouse, executive director of Whole Washington, the political nonprofit that authored the Washington Health Trust.
In total, the UHCC’s fifteen members include one member from each major party of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House, and one member from each party of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate. Additional members include the Secretary of the Department of Health (or secretary’s designee), the director of the Health Care Authority (or director’s designee), the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange (or CEO’s designee), the insurance commissioner (or commissioner’s designee), the director of the Office of Equity (or the director’s designee) and six members appointed by the governor.
While some appointments are still being finalized, the current UHCC consists of the following members:
- Vicki Lowe, commission chair
- Joan Altman, JD, MPH
- Jane Beyer
- Nicole Gomez, MPA
- David Iseminger
- Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, MD, MPH
- Bidisha Mandal, PhD
- Representative Lisa Parshley
- Omar Santana-Gomez
- Representative Joe Schmick
- Mohamed Shidane
The appointments come amid the passage of H.R.1. (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) and the imminent expiration of ACA subsidies starting in January 2026. Some current projections estimate that more than half a million Washingtonians could lose their insurance coverage either by being priced out of the Benefit Exchange or by losing their Apple Health coverage due to Medicaid cuts. While the UHCC has faced funding cuts of its own, calls for immediate action grow louder as expressed at the August 5th Advocates’ Round Table in which representatives from the Health Care is a Human Right Washington coalition engaged in dialogue with the UHCC.
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