Under the direction of St. John's Sentinel publisher Cornelius Swart, reporter Giselle Springer-Douglas wrote the first public print media piece on the Oregon Community Health Care Bill. Thousands of Oregonians that don't receive Oregon Health Watcher but that do have the good fortune to live in North Portland can now read about the plan to solve Oregon's health care crisis and some of the candidates and elected officials that support it. Bravo!
[http://www.stjohnssentinel.com/Archive/StJohnsSentinelDecember2005.pdf 1.4 MB download pages 14 & 19]

Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust president Will Newman II announced that OSALT was endorsing the Oregon Community Health Care Bill making it the first of sixty-three local, regional and statewide organizations belonging to the Coalition for a Livable Future to step forward with their support. "The Bill is in it's formative stages," he said, "and details will be worked out in public discussion, but the core principles are sound, timely and essential for the future health of Oregon's citizens and economy." Newman added that he is proposing to the Coalition that the remaining member organizations consider following OSALT's lead by discussing the Oregon Community Health Care Bill with their members in the near future.

I urge and challenge every city council, county commission, school board and every other public institution as well as organizations similar to those belonging to the Coalition for a Livable Future to endorse the Oregon Community Health Care Bill or put forward a better solution to our state's health care crisis that does not involve the federal governemt nor the private health insurance industry. Whatever you choose let me know and I'll start a web page to give credit to every public and private organization in Oregon that stands up.

Elected officials throughout Oregon who want to register their agreement that our state government needs to address Oregon's moral and economic health care crisis can get credit for their position by having their names added to the ongoing poll list, http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/octoberpoll.html . Contact richard@goodgrowthnw.org .

As your organization, group or family discuss the Oregon Community Health Care Bill keep this in mind. There is no such thing as a preexisting condition. If the procedure is covered you're covered.

There is now a page for candidates supporting the Oregon Community Health Care Bill. If you are a candidate for public office in Oregon, i.e., school board, city council, county commission, legislature etc. or you know someone who is running for any of these offices and you or they support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill then tell me about it and I'll list you and them along with these candidates: Pete Sorenson - Governor, Jim Robison - State Representative, Jeff Cogen - Multnomah County Commissioner. Voters want and need to know. You deserve the credit.
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/candidates.html

Pete Sorenson and Vicki Walker
AGREE that the following social conditions are moral and economic problems which must be solved by our state government.
Ted Kulongoski, Ron Saxton, Kevin Mannix and Jason Atkinson
DISAGREE that the following social conditions are moral and economic problems which must be solved by our state government.

1. Huge numbers of Oregonians have no health insurance.
2. Huge numbers of Oregonians pay for such costly health insurance that they can afford little or no actual health care.
3. All of Oregon's public institutions are facing skyrocketing and unstoppable increases in health care costs which significantly diminish the quality and quantity of services that need to be provided to the public.

Pete Sorenson
Supports the Oregon Community Health Bill as a solution to the moral and economic health care problems faced by Oregonians and Oregon's public institutions.

Ted Kulongoski, Ron Saxton, Kevin Mannix, Jason Atkinson and Vicki Walker have NO plan to deal with the moral and economic health care problems faced by Oregonians and Oregon's public institutions.

Below is an email sent to former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber.

From:   Richard Ellmyer
Subject: A Job or a Mission - Governor or Health Care Champion?
Date: December 3, 2005 1:03:41 PM PST
To:   John Kitzhaber
Cc:   Pete Sorenson, Vicki Walker, Ted Kulongoski, Ron Saxton, Kevin Mannix, Jason Atkinson


Kitzhaber says he may seek 3rd term Governor
The Democrat says he's told Gov. Ted Kulongoski he's thinking hard about the statehouse
Oregonian - Saturday, December 03, 2005
Harry Esteve

His basic premise is that the U.S. health care system is built on a vastly outdated model and must be updated to meet modern needs and societal changes. "I'm asking myself, where could I be most effective to move forward on those ideas?" Kitzhaber said.


Hi John:
I have no interest in running for public office yet I am committed to championing a solution to Oregon's health care crisis. The Oregon Community Health Care Bill is the plan. It has been on the public table for a year. It is based on your brilliant and courageous Oregon Health Plan for which you are due and I give maximum credit. If you choose to run for governor you will not only be running against Peter Sorenson, Ted Kulongoski et al. but also the Oregon Community Health Care Bill.

Most Oregonians know that the federal government and the private health insurance industry have failed to provide Oregonians and Oregon's public institutions with affordable health care. The Oregon Community Health Care Bill recognizes these failures and provides a solution to Oregon's health care crisis by building upon the basic structure of the Oregon Health Plan. Call it Oregon Health Plan 2.0. It's actually more akin to the leap from the Macintosh computer operating system 9 to OS 10. A major overhaul that was dramatically more stable and user friendly than its predecessor.

Do you want the job of being governor? Do you want to change the federal government's approach to Medicare? Do you want to change the federal government's approach to Medicaid? Do you want to change the federal government's approach to other health care legislation? OR Do you want to solve the following problems faced by Oregonians:
1. Huge numbers of Oregonians have no health insurance.
2. Huge numbers of Oregonians pay for such costly health insurance that they can afford little or no actual health care.
3. All of Oregon's public institutions are facing skyrocketing and unstoppable increases in health care costs which significantly diminish the quality and quantity of services that need to be provided to the public.

If you want to solve these problems facing Oregonians then you don't have to run for governor. I'm not. What you need to do is start promoting the Oregon Community Health Bill because it is a politically centrist solution capable of attracting support from left and right, Republicans and Democrats, urban - suburban - rural and because it:
1. Is the most market driven health care plan in America.
2. Removes the burden from businesses of providing health care and places it on the state of Oregon.
3. Reduces health care costs to public institutions in Oregon by 20%.
4. Provides actual health care not just health insurance.
5. Provides affordable health care - on a sliding scale according to income - as good as that received by any public employee in Oregon to anyone willing to make a commitment to Oregon for one year as a registered voter.

There are already a growing number of elected officials and candidates, including Pete Sorenson, throughout Oregon that support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill. Ted Kulongoski has yet to admit that the moral and economic health care problems mentioned above are real. He behaves as though public school employees are his only constituency. With health care recently pronounced the number one issue in the governor's race by professional campaign managers who spoke before Portland's City Club and Kulongoski's abject failure in that department it is no surprise that many voters are looking elsewhere for leadership.

Thus far the only candidate for governor supporting a real plan for health care reform in Oregon is Lane county commissioner Pete Sorenson. Pete is supporting the Oregon Community Health Care Bill. Until such time as you, Ted, Vicki, Kevin, Ron, Jason et al. either support the Oregon Community Health Care Bill or their versions of a better alternative, every Oregonian should be supporting Pete Sorenson for governor.


Richard Ellmyer
Oregon Community Health Care Bill author and project champion
President, MacSolutions Inc. - A Macintosh computer consulting business providing web hosting for artists and very small businesses.
Writer/Publisher - Oregon Health Watcher commentary - Published on the Internet and distributed to 6000 readers interested in public health care policy in Oregon.
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/health.html
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/octoberpoll.html
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org/candidates.html