In the last twelve years neither Democrat Bill Clinton nor Republican George W. Bush has succeeded in bringing affordable health care to every American. It is time to come to grips with this reality. The entrenched power brokers in Washington D.C. will never allow meaningful health care reform in America. If we, as Oregonians, want affordable health care for ALL of us then WE MUST DO IT OURSELVES. We share our beaches, our mountains and our forests. We share a common purpose in maintaining our glorious Oregon environment. We must now share our concern for the health of our fellow Oregonians.
Large numbers of Oregonians have either no health insurance or, like my family, agonize every month over the prospect of dropping our health insurance because we cannot sustain the continuous rise in premiums. Every Oregonian Should Have The Right To Affordable Health Care. Every Oregonian can have affordable health care if, as a state, we have the vision and the moral courage to do it.
The Oregon Health Plan provides us with the basic structure on which we can build. The overall concept is simple. Expand the pool of those covered by the Oregon Health Plan to include two new classes that would pay to be part of the plan, namely, civil servants from every government and educational institution in Oregon as well any other Oregonian that wants to join. This proposal is not a detailed analysis nor a finished plan. It is a call to medical arms, to creative, outside the box and yes, revolutionary thinking about how to deal with an intractable health care crisis. The federal government can't and won't help. Business as usual hasn't worked and won't work. Homegrown Oregon innovation must be the new strategy.
An article in the Oregonian* recently exposed the fiscal danger to Portland's budget of escalating health care costs for city employees. The Portland Public School District as well as suburban and rural school districts continue to face similar problems. This issue can be resolved by changing the Oregon Health Plan to included public employees. Rather than pay outrageous and uncontrollable private insurance premiums, governments would pay directly into the Oregon Health Plan. By design these payments would always be significantly less than private health care premiums. In addition, all Oregonians could pay to join the Oregon Health Plan on a sliding scale related to income.
So the question arises: Do we have the political will in the state of Oregon to enroll ALL public employees in the Oregon Health Plan and encourage all Oregonians to participate? We will find out soon enough.
Civil servants of all kinds, those who work at a desk, in a classroom or out in the field should see this as a patriotic opportunity. A chance to demonstrate the values of family and community. A chance to show that they don't believe that their group has greater "rights" to health care than their fellow Oregonians. A chance to dispel any notion that their group "deserves" a better health care plan than any Oregon voter.
Portland mayor-elect Tom Potter can signal his interest in fiscal responsibility and take the moral high ground by instructing the city of Portland lobbyist to head to Salem and encourage support for a citizen friendly Oregon Health Plan. Then he should call a special meeting of the League of Oregon Cities and persuade every mayor in Oregon to follow his lead. [President of the Association of Oregon Counties, Al Switzer, take note.]
Savvy legislators know the importance of getting bills "in the hopper" before the session starts in January. I call upon my state representative, Gary Hansen, and my state senator, Margaret Carter, to introduce separate bills which call for the reconfiguration of the Oregon Health Plan to allow any government employee in Oregon and any other Oregonian the right to join. Also, to establish the Oregon Health Plan as THE health plan for every member of the Oregon Legislature and their staffs. I make a similar call to my governor, Ted Kulongoski. The details of the bill will be worked out during the session.
Those of you who support this idea must be prepared to act. First, you should distribute paper copies or forward this email to every Oregonian you know, especially those who are without medical coverage or those on the edge of losing it. Next, talk to everyone in your family, your workplace and your neighborhood about it. Finally, contact your mayor, your county commissioner, your governor and your state legislators and tell them ALL Oregonians are on board the same ship of state and must be treated fairly when it comes to health care.
A new season of opportunity is about to begin. The selfish and the nay sayers among us should address their umbrage and pessimism to Oregon's congressional delegation. There are both Rs and Ds in house and senate so take your pick. Their form letter responses will pay tribute to the sincerity of their expressions of impotence.
Speaking for the rest of us who are, "mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore", I say it's time for a righteous battle.
* http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/portland_news/1101905886101830.xml
Richard Ellmyer
Portland, Oregon