Jackson County Democrats

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   Health Care for America NOW

•   Oregon’s Health Care Reform bills pass the House and Senate
•   Mothers’ Voices for Health Care Reform on June 25th!

  ACTION - NOW is the time to write Senator Wyden a personal   letter.

•   National health care bills with the choice of a public health insurance plan will be introduced by the end of June.
• Senator Merkley calls out Republican Minority Leader and “How to beat Health Care Reform” talking points!

ACTION - Mothers’ Voices for Health Care Reform on June 25th!

ACTION - Now’s the time to write Senator Wyden a personal letter.

Join Mothers’ Voices for Health Care Reform on Thursday, June 25^th at 5:00 PM in Vogel Plaza (Main and Central in downtown Medford).  Stand together for health care reform that will give mothers peace of mind. This event, which coincides with what may be the largest health care lobbying day in Washington, D.C. history, is open to everyone.  Wear red in heartfelt support of health care reform.  Please bring a personal letter to Senator Wyden telling him why you think the choice of a public health insurance plan is important.  Senator Wyden’s Healthy Americans Act does not give us the choice of a public health insurance plan. See the recent article from The Huffington Post at the end of the newsletter.

Here’s what Howard Dean, M.D. said in his speech in Portland on June 5^th:

“Ron Wyden,” he said. “We don’t know where he’s gonna be on this (public health insurance plan) yet. And you can push him very hard on this and you should. The clear, focused message is that there must be a public insurance option… that this is the price of public support.”

Mothers’ Voices is sponsored by HCAN, the Jackson County Democrats, the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee, the Oregon Education Association, John Forsyth, M.D., Oregon Action, AFSCME, UNETE and SEIU.

If you can’t come to the event, please send your letter to Senator Wyden to HCAN, 33 N. Central #303, Medford OR 97501. A delegation will be taking the letters to Senator Wyden’s office.

Oregon’s Health Care Reform bills pass the House and Senate!

HB 2009 and HB 2116 passed the State Senate today and will now go to Governor Kulongoski. According to Rich Rohde of Oregon Action, “We all are proud of our state for the extraordinary victory for health care reform today in the Oregon Legislature.  Special thanks to Senator Alan Bates and Representative Mitch Greenlick whose leadership was unending and influential to bring fundamental health reform into reality. We will be scheduling a celebration/reflection event soon.”

The press release issued by the State Senate is at the end of this newsletter.

 National health care bills will be introduced by the end of June.

HCAN is expecting that three bills including the choice of a public health insurance plan will be introduced in Congress by the end of June.  The Senate Finance and Health Education Labor and Pensions Committees will consider separate bills.  In the House of Representatives, three committees (Labor, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means) are expected to produce one bill for consideration by the House. HCAN will be analyzing all of these bills for consistency with our principles.

The new public health insurance plan would be designed to slow the growth in medical costs, inject competition into the private health insurance market, foster payment and delivery system reforms, remedy disparities in access to care, and guarantee that high-quality, affordable coverage will be there for individuals and families no matter what happens to their jobs or their health.

Senator Merkley calls out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Republican talking points on health care reform

See the YouTube clip of Senator Merkley calling out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, June 10^th for his verbatim use of the Republican talking points on defeating real health care reform.  These talking points, authored by consultant Frank Luntz, tell Republican leaders that, despite their opposition to real reform that would include the choice of a public health insurance plan, “You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of reform.” 

Here’s the link to Senator Merkley’s floor speech:

http://www.blueoregon.com/2009/06/merkley-calls-out-mitch-mcconnell-on-the-senate-floor.html

Health Care: Lobbyists, Blue Dogs and the 'No, We Can't Coalition'

By Deepak Bhargava

It's mind boggling. Mere months after a historic election in which Americans demanded real change - the forces for business as usual have returned with a vengeance. We knew Republicans would try to scuttle health care reform by protecting private health insurance companies from having to compete with a public health insurance option. After all, they are the party of "no" and the party that represents powerful corporate interests. It's their job to side with greedy insurance lobbyists. What's surprising however is that the lobbyists have invited Democrats into the "No We Can't Coalition" - and a surprising number are joining forces with the special interests and opposing a public health insurance option. In other words: they are saying "no" to real health care reform.

A prominent example is Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. Wyden, in failing to push for a public health insurance option, has brazenly aligned himself with the insurance industry and against ordinary Americans - 73 percent of whom firmly believe they should have a public health insurance option. Americans don't trust private health insurance companies to stay honest. Ron Wyden apparently does. Why? Is it because Sen. Wyden has taken some $1.5 million in contributions from health and insurance interests? In fact, one of Sen. Wyden's top lobbyist donors is DLA Piper (and its iterations) which represents huge Wall Street firms and pharmaceutical companies who are deathly afraid that health care reform might actually make prescription drugs affordable to Americans.

Sen. Wyden is a perfect example of the "No We Can't Coalition." The Wyden plan is co-sponsored by one of the most conservative Republicans in the Senate, Utah's Robert Bennett and endorsed by two of the largest private health insurers in the nation. And who had a say in writing the Wyden plan? Several of his staff have moved on to lobbying jobs for the health industry including his former chief of staff and his former senior legislative assistant for health care.

The revolving door between Congress and K Street is only part of how the "No We Can't Coalition" is being built. The coalition is also gaining strength from a debate more focused on cost controls than coverage, integrity and quality. The reality is that we need a public health insurance option to keep the industry honest. Without such competition, we will quickly backslide not only on cost controls, but also on coverage and quality.

It's a debate we can't afford to lose. Consider the case of Julianna from Sen. Wyden's home state of Oregon. She is a nursing student Mt. Hood Community College and works part time as a certified nursing assistant. Julianna was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After being dropped from her parents insurance because she was no longer considered a dependent, she struggled to find insurance she could afford. Her job at an assisted living facility did not offer coverage, she could not afford the COBRA that was offered to her; and she was uninsurable in the individual market due to her recent diagnosis. The only plan she could get did not include prescription drug coverage and required huge co-pays for limited coverage. As her debts mount she faces tough choices about quitting school and trying to find a job with better coverage in an economy where unemployment is rampant. If Julianna had access to a public health insurance option that covered her needs at a price she could afford on her part time salary, none of this would be happening, and she could continue to focus on her education to become an effective health care professional and pass along the care she received to the millions who lack it today.

Americans don't trust private insurers. Skyrocketing costs, arbitrary denial of service and lack of competition give them plenty of reasons to reject their monopoly. The industry has shown over and over again that it has no interest in serving the Juliannas of the nation. Why should we trust them now?

Millions of Americans are grappling with private insurance nightmares and desperate for quality coverage and millions more are just a pink slip or declined coverage away from needing a back-up option. America has already answered the "No We Can't Coalition." They answered in an election, and they've answered in every poll. The answer is, "Yes we must."

Senate votes to dramatically expand health care coverage for Oregonian’s children and most vulnerable
House Bill 2009 and House Bill 2116 will reform health care delivery and fund coverage for more Oregonians using $2 billion in Federal matching dollars

SALEM – Following through on a commitment to dramatically increase access to health care for children and the most vulnerable in Oregon while controlling costs for all, the Senate Democrats passed both HB 2116 and HB 2009 this afternoon. Together, the two bills will cover 95% of Oregon’s uninsured children and extend coverage to an additional 35,000 low-income adults while instituting a reformed model of health care delivery for Oregonians.

"This may be the most important piece of legislation that we pass out of this building this session. This is a good deal for Oregon, especially Oregon’s uninsured children – the vast majority of whom will now be able to visit a doctor and get the services they need,” said Senator Alan Bates (D-Ashland), who co-carried both bills on the floor. “The prohibitive costs of health care are a major burden for many parents, some of whom are only one hospital visit away from bankruptcy.”

HB 2009 replaces the current fragmented health care delivery system with a coordinated, streamlined approach, the Oregon Health Policy Board. This Board will oversee all health care functions, the implementation of expanded coverage, and institute reforms to contain skyrocketing costs. Reform measures include facilitating the adoption of electronic health records that will position that state to compete for millions of dollars Federal stimulus funding.

"Cost containment is a crucial piece of this package. Inefficiencies create high costs that affect everyone, from the business owner who wants to provide health insurance to the person who avoids preventative care because of the prohibitive costs of visiting a doctor," said Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), chair of the Senate Committee on Health Care.

The funding for expanding coverage for kids and low-income Oregonians will come from HB 2116. The funding plan has two components: an increased hospital tax and a 1 percent tax on the commercial insurance premiums collected by health plans and insurers. The hospital tax will fund the addition of approximately 35,000 adults to the Oregon Health Plan in the 2009-2011 biennium. In the 2011-2013 biennium that number will grow to 60,000. The insurers’ tax will fund medical coverage for 80,000 additional children by the end of the 2009-2011 biennium. The new state funds will allow Oregon to draw down nearly $2 billion in federal funds for reimbursements to Medicaid providers, which will also increase under the funding plan.

"This legislation is proof of what we can accomplish by working collaboratively with our partners inside and outside the building,” said Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose), who participated in the work group that negotiated the arrangement with hospitals and insurers. “With this bill we will be doing something that will fundamentally improve the quality of life for thousands of Oregon’s children and most vulnerable while simultaneously lowering costs for everyone.”

Giving uninsured Oregonians access to health care coverage is estimated to lower the burden of costs for all Oregonians over time, for those with and without health insurance. At the same time, this expansion of health care services will create an estimated 3,600 jobs.

“Expanding access to health care has never been more important in Oregon. With record unemployment, more Oregonians than ever are in need the health care coverage that this legislation will provide," said Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem). "These measures will help contain the rising cost of healthcare and create jobs -- two important steps toward surviving this economic crisis and preparing our state for prosperity in the future."

The final legislative vote of both HB 2009 and HB 2116 demonstrates a marked victory for Senate Democrats, who pledged to expand access to the most vulnerable Oregonians and work to control costs for all Oregonians. Both components of HB 2009 and HB 2116 represent follow though on key points of the caucus' agenda for the 2009 session.

"This legislation is a fitting example of the type of measure that crosses boundaries and makes our state strong," said Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin). "This is a victory because of the jobs it will create, because of the number of children and vulnerable Oregonians it will cover, and for all Oregonians because of the savings it creates over the long haul. We made a commitment to make this happen and today we delivered."

Both bills now go to the Governor for his approval.

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For more information, please contact Steve Neuberger, Southern Oregon HCAN organizer at 941-8309 (c) or 772-4029 (o) or steve@nwfco.org.

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