‘Getting sick should not financially ruin you’: Gee backs starting with primary care for everyone in WA

KIRO host Gee Scott believes Washington’s debate over universal health care should begin with a principle people can agree on, even if they disagree about how to pay for it.

“Getting sick should not financially ruin you,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

KIRO host Ursula Reutin outlined a proposal from Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer to lay the groundwork for free or low-cost primary care for everyone in the state. In Ursula’s account, the proposal would ask lawmakers to authorize development of a plan that pools existing health care funds and pays providers a monthly amount rather than paying for each individual service.

The goal would be to address health problems earlier, before patients need emergency treatment or a hospital stay. The proposal is a planning step, not a universal health care system already in place.

Kuderer has identified expanded access to primary care as a priority for the upcoming legislative session, arguing that greater use could help reduce health care expenses.

Gee acknowledged that funding and implementation would be contentious, but he argued that those debates should not obscure what happens to a working family when someone becomes ill without adequate coverage.

“How the system is going to be set up, how we pay for it, that can be debated, so I’m just starting off with just that first principle: with someone getting sick should not ruin the family,” Gee said.

Putting off care because of the cost

Ursula asked how many listeners knew someone who avoided a doctor because they lacked insurance. Both hosts described people in their lives facing that decision.

Gee recalled a friend who could not afford coverage and was trying to get by without it. Ursula described a friend with health concerns who feared the financial consequences of finding out what was wrong.

For Ursula, those experiences made the case for improving access to basic care, even with unanswered questions about which services and providers would be included.

“Like we can’t keep using the ER as our primary care, and so many people are in that position. Go to an ER and see how people use the ER,” Ursula said.

She also summarized criticism from the Washington Policy Center, which favors more private-sector competition to lower costs and improve patient choice.

Gee predicts big companies will have to help

The discussion moved from primary care to a broader question: Who will support people financially if AI changes the job market?

Gee predicted that large technology companies would eventually help fund public needs as their businesses grow and automation reduces employment. He also forecast that universal basic income would become part of that future.

“And I do believe that UBI, universal basic income, will be a thing in 10 years. You guys can write this down,” Gee said.

Ursula challenged the idea that companies would willingly take on medical subsidies, arguing that health coverage is already a major expense they may seek to avoid. That skepticism reinforced her support for making primary care available regardless of someone’s employment situation.

KIRO Newsradio producer Andrew Lanier argued that a shift away from human jobs would also raise questions about how governments collect revenue.

Meanwhile, listeners were sharing their own experiences. Ursula read a text from Tamara in Tacoma describing a 29-year-old son whose company had closed, leaving him without insurance and unable to afford a doctor.

For Gee and Ursula, those stories brought the discussion back from predictions about AI to the immediate problem: People need medical care now, but some are putting it off because they cannot afford it.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.