Sept. 12, 2025
Member Spotlight: Charles Liu, MD
Works at: University of Washington Medical Center Montlake.
How long in practice: First year in practice.
Specialty: Colon and rectal surgery.
Why WSMA: As a physician in my first year in practice and new to Washington, I was excited to join the WSMA both for the professional networking opportunities and to get involved in the WSMA's work in state legislative advocacy. One of the first WSMA initiatives I heard about was its effort to pass the Medicaid Access Program through the state Legislature and get it signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson. Low Medicaid reimbursement creates huge access to care issues for many of our low-income patients statewide, and the program-if and when it is hopefully approved in the future by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services- would leverage federal funds to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to Medicare levels. I'm excited to get involved in future efforts by the WSMA to support public policy that expands our patients' access to timely care.
Top concerns in medicine: My patients' ability to afford their medical care is one of my top concerns as a colorectal surgeon. In my specialty, this can manifest as patients with inflammatory bowel disease stopping or skipping doses of their medication, which can lead to worsening disease, complications, and emergency surgery, or patients delaying or deferring colorectal cancer screening, leading to late diagnoses of colorectal cancer. This problem is only becoming greater as expensive new biologic medications become standard of care, and as high-deductible health insurance plans become more common. In addition to stress around paying high medical bills, cost transparency is a huge challenge. So many patients ask me if their surgery will be covered by insurance, or how much it will cost, and I have very limited tools available to help them answer those very valid questions.
Challenges in medical profession: A major challenge our profession faces is the fallout of the recently passed cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Through these cuts, millions of patients nationwide and hundreds of thousands here in Washington will lose their health insurance, likely leading to more delayed disease presentation. I work at an urban referral hospital, but many of my patients travel from rural parts of the state and region to get care, and I am particularly worried about the closure of rural hospitals and emergency rooms as a result of these cuts.
Why my specialty: I love that I get to take care of patients ranging from young adults with inflammatory bowel disease, to older adults with cancer, to folks of all ages with diverticulitis and anorectal conditions. On the procedural side, colorectal surgery also allows me to use open, laparoscopic, robotic, and endoscopic techniques to treat disease, and my surgical cases range from short 20-minute procedures to all- day multidisciplinary operations. Finally, I really enjoy getting to work with and teach residents and medical students as a daily part of my job.
Spare time: I enjoy running, watching soccer, and all things aviation-related (I'm not a pilot but maybe someday). Over the past couple of years, I have been dabbling in mixology. More recently, my wife and I have our hands full with our three-month old son, who is currently learning how to hold his head up and that his hands belong to his body!
Recommended reading: Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime" is amazing, both personal and educational about apartheid South Africa. I loved listening to it on audio because he narrates the accents and languages so well. "How Democracies Die" by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt is a bit too real but eye-opening. We have to learn about history to avoid repeating it. Lastly, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" by Bill Gates was really enjoyable. He is, of course, not a climate scientist himself but has clearly educated himself deeply on the topic, and as a result I think he explains climate change solutions in a really approachable and clear way.
This article was featured in the September/October 2025 issue of WSMA Reports, WSMA's print magazine.