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Senate approves bill to create state health‑care board to prepare for universal coverage

Washington State Senate · February 17, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The Washington Senate on Monday adopted Senate Bill 5947 to create a state health‑care board that would help design a universal health‑care program if federal or state triggers occur; the measure passed after adoption of an amendment and a floor debate split largely along philosophy and fiscal concerns.

The Washington State Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 5947 on Monday, a measure to create a Washington Health Care Board to help design and coordinate a universal health‑care program if certain federal or state triggers are met.

Sponsor Senator Karen Hasegawa (Remarks introduced at the floor) told colleagues the bill “incorporates the work of a lot of different stakeholder groups” and is a next step following a joint memorial that asked the federal government to either create a national plan, enable states to form plans or grant waivers that…

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