Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

Everyone should have access to affordable health care. But out-of-control costs have made health insurance unaffordable to hundreds of thousands of Oregonians.

Delivering meaningful health care reform was one of my top priorities for the 2009 session. As a member of the Health Care Committee, I played an active role in crafting two bills that will change the landscape of health care in Oregon.

House Bill 2116 provides the largest expansion of health coverage since creation of the Oregon Health Plan two decades ago. The bill will extend coverage to 80,000 uninsured children, ensuring that 95% of all children in Oregon will have health coverage by 2011 -- the highest rate in the United States. The bill brings an additional 35,000 low-income adults into the Oregon Health Plan, where they will receive not only medical care, but mental health care and addiction treatment services. The bill also creates 3,600 jobs and helps Oregon take advantage of up to $1 billion in federal money.

The Legislature also recognized that expanding coverage is not enough. The spiraling costs of health care must be controlled. House Bill 2009, a companion bill to HB 2116, will make health care more efficient and less costly by streamlining functions and taking advantage of technological advances that can improve care while reducing the price of care both in the short term and long term. These cost-saving measures are expected to save billions of dollars over time.

While the 2009 legislature took meaningful strides towards reforming our health care system, there remains a great deal of work to be done. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to make further progress in this area.

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