Why Washington faces huge fallout from the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s megabill

Justin Gill, the president of the Washington State Nurses Association, expects to see more uninsured and sicker patients who’ll further strain an already overstretched workforce.

“We’re going to try and do the best that we can, but when the systems around us are working against us, at some point, you’re going to see providers, nurses really kind of start to identify that this may not be something that’s sustainable for them individually,” he said. “And I think that that’s a realistic threat that oftentimes people won’t really appreciate until we get there.”

Gill, an urgent care nurse practitioner in Everett, is frustrated with lawmakers who voted for the legislation but won’t have to sit in the exam room when a patient comes in with a heart attack that could’ve been prevented with primary care visits.