Nearly 15 percent of Washington citizens don’t have any health insurance – and they’re not all unemployed. A growing number of people both with jobs and without are living with no health insurance, and the problem will get worse if it’s not addressed, according to Associate Professor Janet Primomo of the UW Tacoma Nursing Program. Health care systems in Washington and across the nation need major revisions if people are going to get the care they need, she said.

“Basically, we have a non-system in terms of health care,” she said. “It’s unequal access in this state.”

Primomo has invited a panel of health care experts to discuss coverage for the uninsured and other health care reform issues at a free special event at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 in Cherry Parkes 105 at UW Tacoma. The panel is being convened as part of Cover the Uninsured Week May 1-7, a nationwide event to publicize the plight of people who live without health insurance.

The panelists are Representative Tami Green (D-Lakewood), an RN; Kathleen O’Connor, founding director of CodeBlueNow!, a national grassroots education and advocacy group committed to positive change in the U.S. health care system; and Don Sloma, policy director at the Washington Health Foundation.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public. For more information, contact UW Tacoma at (253) 692-4536.