MEASURE 101 PROTECTS CONSUMERS AND STABILIZES INSURANCE PREMIUMS

OSPIRG urges a YES vote on this important initiative, which will help contain health insurance rate hikes for Oregon families and individuals buying coverage on their own and fund critical programs that keep Oregonians healthy and out of the emergency room.

Jesse O'Brien

OSPIRG works for Oregon consumers through watchdogging insurance companies and pushing back against unjustified premium increases. Our close scrutiny of health insurance rates has helped cut over $280 million dollars from premiums since 2011.

OSPIRG endorses Measure 101 because:

  • it will maintain successful programs that help keep Oregonians healthy and out of the emergency room.[1]
  • it will stabilize health insurance premiums.[2]
  • it will save consumers who buy their own coverage $300 a year on average.[3]

Health care still costs more and delivers less than it should. Oregonians have suffered through too many years of huge double-digit rate hikes and health insurers dropping coverage, especially in rural Oregon. Fortunately, Measure 101 funds a program that stabilizes insurance premiums and keeps costs from rising quicker.

Thanks to the reinsurance program, premiums for Oregon families and individuals who buy their own coverage are $300 less than they would be otherwise. OSPIRG estimates that this program helped cut over $100 million from premiums for 2018.

Measure 101 also helps ensure that every county in Oregon has at least one health plan option. Earlier this year, before the Measure 101 funding was passed by the legislature, many rural Oregonians were at risk of having no insurance plans available in their county. Now everyone in Oregon has options for health coverage.

By preserving funding for the Oregon Health Plan, Measure 101 will also protect hundreds of thousands of Oregonians from the possibility of losing health coverage. This does more than protect the health and economic security of those vulnerable individuals and families — by preserving successful programs to keep people healthy and out of the emergency room, it will contain costs and improve quality of care for all Oregonians.

MEASURE 101 IS A GOOD DEAL FOR OREGON

OSPIRG URGES A YES VOTE ON MEASURE 101
 
Paid for by Oregon State Public Interest Research Group

[1] Oregon’s Coordinated Care Model has helped cut unnecessary E.R. use in half.

[2] See our analysis for more detail.

[3] According to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.

Authors

Jesse O'Brien