Health Care: Help Oregon Get It Right
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HEALTH CARE SOLUTIONS—OSPIRG is working to make sure Oregonians have quality, affordable health care, and stop insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions |
In March, 2008, OSPIRG launched the “Health Care Solutions For Oregon” campaign calling for common sense solutions to Oregon’s health care problems. The campaign comes in anticipation of the Oregon Health Fund Board’s upcoming release of a health care reform plan in the summer of 2008, which is expected to become a bill in the 2009 Legislature.
“Oregon’s families and businesses are getting squeezed by rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs,” said OSPIRG Advocate Laura Etherton, “It’s time to rein in costs and improve quality for everyone.”
OSPIRG is working to make sure the plan includes consumer protections such as stronger rules around insurance and drug prices, and a ban on insurance companies denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Practical measures, such as making sure everyone has health coverage, and investing in prevention and primary care to bring down costs over the long term, should also be implemented.
The Oregon Health Fund Board was established by the Healthy Oregon Act of 2007, and in the fall of that year, the board’s seven members were appointed by Gov. Kulongoski. OSPIRG Advocate Laura Etherton serves on the Board’s Finance Committee, where she advocates for the public interest.
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