Jackson County Democrats

We cannot pass healthcare reform without YOU!

One voice added to another and another and another = being heard!

SAVE THE DATE:  Thursday, June 25^th from 5 to 6 pm in Vogel Plaza in downtown Medford. Health Care for America NOW and our Southern Oregon partners will hold "Mothers' Voices for Health Care Reform".  The event will feature mothers and is open to everyone.

Health Care for America NOW will have a rally in Washington, D.C. on the same day.  OUR time is NOW!

Please help with our planning - Planning meeting to organize this event on Tuesday, June 9 from 10 to 11:30 am in the Adams Room of the Medford Public Library. 

Please see the letter that President Obama sent today to Senators Baucus and Kennedy and the press release from Health Care for America NOW!  Highlighted the President’s strong support for a public health insurance option in bold. This reaffirmation of the President's position will, I hope, fuel our efforts in the coming months of this critical campaign. 

Information on JCDP Web Site

Medford School Board Meeting June 16th: 7 pm South Medford High School cafeteria.  There will be opportunity to testify regarding the revised budget.

Information on JCDP Web Site

ACTION - Time is Running Out to Protect Consumers

Please take a moment right now to click here (http://www.facts-online.org/our_oregon/leg-lookup/search.html?preview=t

to find your Representative and Senator and let them know that Oregon homeowners and our economy are counting on SB 628 to start the conversations that can help end the foreclosure crisis. Vote YES!

As the Oregon legislature enters its final weeks, the clock is ticking on several key bills that will protect the wallets of Oregonians in these tough economic times.

There's very little time left for lawmakers to do the right thing for Oregon consumers, and it'll require bold steps and a commitment to leveling the playing field for everyday Oregonians.

Here's an update on key bills Our Oregon has been following--and how you can help.

Senate Bill 628: Stopping Preventable Foreclosures--Needs Your Help, Fast!

SB 952: Protecting Renters From Foreclosure-Related Evictions.

SB 731: Exempt Income Protection Act--SB 731 protects subsistence-level income from illegal garnishment, protecting vital payments like social security and unemployment from being raided by debt companies.

SB 515: Oregon Lemon Law--SB 515 expands and updates Oregon's lemon law, giving consumers the confidence that when they buy a car, they won't get stuck with a lemon.

SB 386: Expands Protections Against Abusive Debt Collectors

HB 2191: Regulation of Debt Management Companies

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Can you help us share this news with your senators in Washington? Please give them a call today. It will only take a minute, and it will make a big difference.

More than 1,000 business owners are speaking out in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Many economists believe what’s good for workers is good for business. It’s great to hear CEOs making the same case.

Call Senator Jeff Merkley at:

(202) 224-3753

Call Senator Ron Wyden at:

(202) 224-5244

Or call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free

at: (800) 828-0498 and ask to be

connected to Merkley or Wyden

Thank you for taking the time to make this important call,

—Marc Laitin, AFL-CIO

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   Message by Roger Smith
Chair, Business Leaders for a Fair Economy President and CEO, American Income Life Insurance and National Income Life Insurance Company

More than 1,000 business leaders like me have publicly endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act, but that is not enough because actions speak louder than words.

I realized I needed to organize responsible, worker-friendly business leaders in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. It's amazing what some of my fellow CEOs are willing to say in an effort to stop this important piece of legislation, and it was time to fight back.

A group of us have formed a new coalition, Business Leaders for a Fair Economy, to make it clear that it's possible to be both pro-business and pro-worker. We are a national group of employers, entrepreneurs and business leaders who understand that good jobs that pay well create demand for the goods and services we provide. We support the Employee Free Choice Act as an integral part of our nation's economic recovery.

 Why We Need A Public Health Care Plan

The proponents of a trigger are in effect saying, "Wait! The health care crisis needs to get worse".

Some who have been skeptical of a public plan have been calling for a "trigger," that would introduce a public plan some time down the road if certain conditions were met. The report from May 20th, blow away the idea that we should wait for a trigger. Today's report seems to suggest that any reasonable criteria for triggering a public plan has already been met. 

Profits at 10 of the country’s largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428 percent from 2000 to 2007, while consumers paid more for less coverage.

One of the major reasons, according to a new study, is the growing lack of competition in the private health insurance industry that has led to near monopoly conditions in many markets.

The report says such conditions warrant a Justice Department investigation and, says Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), provide compelling evidence of the need for a public health insurance plan option as part of the health care reform initiative President Obama and Congress are developing.

 Schumer says the report from Health Care for America Now! (HCAN)

is the starkest evidence yet that the private health care insurance market is in bad need of some healthy competition. A public health insurance option is critical to ensure the greatest amount of choice possible for consumers...(continue right column)

In a letter to the Department of Justice’s Anti-Trust Division, Richard Kirsch, HCAN national campaign manager, and David Balto, former policy director of the Federal Trade Commission and now senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, write:

Simply put, the private insurance companies have secured monopolies or tight oligopolies and exercised that power to put profits ahead of patients….There were no actions taken against anticompetitive conduct by health insurers in the last administration, in spite of the fact that cases by state attorneys general have secured massive fines against these insurers. A lack of antitrust enforcement has enabled insurers to acquire dominant positions in almost every metropolitan market.

They ask for an investigation of the already consummated mergers that "harm competition or create an anticompetitive market structure." They also urge the Justice Department to conduct investigations of “anticompetitive conduct by dominant insurance companies and challenge that conduct where appropriate.”

Many dominant insurers limit the ability of providers to choose rival insurers or inform patients about more efficient and comprehensive coverage. The DOJ should investigate tools used to stifle competition such as physician gag clauses, most favored nations provisions, all-products clauses, and silent networks, which prevent providers and consumers from having the full range of competitive alternatives.

Schumer last week co-sponsored a Senate resolution urging the creation of a public health plan option and says a public health plan "is critical to ensure the greatest amount of choice possible for consumers."

We believe that it is fully possible to create a public health insurance plan that delivers all the benefits of increased competition without relying on unfair, built-in advantages. If a level playing field exists, then private insurers will have to compete based on quality of care and pricing, instead of just competing for the healthiest consumers.  Full Article

How Will We Pay For Health Care?

Information on JCDP Web Site

Paying for health care reform in the right way is critical. To show a progressive route to funding health care reform, Citizens for Tax Justice released a report, "Progressive Revenue Options to Fund Health Care Reform." The report outlines an array of revenue options that can provide the necessary funds to implement President Obama's proposals to reform health care. Download and read the full report here from PDF file attachement below.

Here is a summary of the funding sources: (View larger graph and explanation.)

Another widely distributed, highly respected resource that is responsive to the question of how the hybrid approach (where people have a choice) of healthcare reform can save money is the report "The Path to a High Performance U.S. Health System" A 2020 Vision and the Policies to Pave the Way” done by the Commonwealth Fund and available at www.commonwealthfund.org . It offers recommendations for a comprehensive set of insurance, payment, and system reforms that could guarantee affordable coverage for all by 2012, improve health outcomes, and slow health spending growth by $3 trillion by 2020- if enacted now to start in 2010.

Steve Neuberger, Southern Oregon Organizer

Health Care for America NOW

33 N. Central, #303

Medford OR 97501

o 541 772-4029

c 541 941-8309

steve@nwfco.org

"Financing of health care rests on three pillars of shared responsibility: individuals paying based on their ability to pay; employers contributing to their employees' coverage, with assistance for small, lower-wage businesses and government raising revenues in an equitable way," said Richard Kirsch, in a statement to the press at the release of the report. "The proposals made by Citizens for Tax Justice and the proposals made by President Obama in his budget show that the nation can readily find the revenues to provide good, affordable health care for all."

Wyden, Merkley Announce Funding To Improve Access to Mental Health Treatment for Rural Veterans

Continuing efforts to make sure all of Oregon's veterans have access to the quality medical care they deserve, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D- Ore.) announced today that the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center will receive $1.9 million to improve mental health treatment for veterans in rural Oregon.

"As more and more of our veterans confront the sometimes severe mental health effects of serving in a very dangerous environment, we must commit to providing the best possible treatment to get these men and women back on their feet," Wyden said. "This funding will provide resources to better reach veterans in rural Oregon, get them the mental health care they deserve, and create much needed support structures within rural communities."

"It is our responsibility to help our service men and women address the challenges facing them when they return from overseas," Merkley said. "Some of them are far from the services provided on major bases and big cities.  We cannot leave our rural veterans behind. This funding for mental health services and support groups is one of the most important ways we can support our veterans"

 Operating as part of the Office of Rural Health Funds Distribution Program, the Oregon Rural Mental Health Implementation program will provide a three-pronged system for improving access for Oregon veterans to mental healthcare treatment.  Building off of the expertise of the Portland VA Medical Center, the program will extend the existing Nurse Care Manager models to reach more veterans in rural areas suffering from mental health issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, substance misuse, and anxiety.

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Of Continuing Importance

Health Care Action on Two Fronts - JOIN ONE OF THE ACTION RESPONSE TEAMS

to write letters to editor, call your Senator

 "Let there be no doubt: Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year." 

    … President Barack Obama

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VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED & APPRECIATED FOR OUR STANDING COMMITTEES

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