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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Featured Galleries: June 20, 2007 Senators pair up on insurance By Chris Rizo Tidings Correspondent SALEM — After holding dozens of town-hall meetings, spending hours poring over statistics and many evenings in negotiations, state Sen. Alan Bates is now scurrying to present lawmakers his plan to ensure that every Oregonian has access to medical care. The Ashland Democrat has had lengthy discussions with physicians, patients, insurers, industry leaders and policymakers, and now it is time, in the waning days of the legislative session, for the full Senate to consider the universal health care proposal that he and Democratic state Sen. Ben Westlund of Tumalo have developed. The two political allies say their bill is a prescription for a healthier Oregon, but equally passionate detractors discount their efforts, saying that the proposal would merely commission yet another study to tell lawmakers what many Oregonians already know: That the health care system is broken. Their proposal will provide a road map to universal health care coverage, Bates said, a primary care physician who before being elected to the state Legislature served on the landmark panel that developed the blueprint for what later became the Oregon Health Plan, which provides insurance to the poor. "We're going to be out of here by July 1," Bates said of the Legislature adjourning. "I am a little concerned that we're not going to be able to get the bill over to the House soon enough." Senate Bill 329 would establish a state-run insurance entity, overseen by a new seven-member regulatory board, the Oregon Health Trust, to establish, among other things, the benefits package and the amount the system will pay physicians and other care providers. The board would report to the 2009 Legislature with its recommendations. Under the Bates-Westlund plan, Oregonians, including the 640,000 uninsured, would have access to medical care. Insurance premiums, they said, would be less expensive for business owners to purchase for their employees, and doctors would provide low-cost preventive care rather than performing costly high-tech procedures because patients lacked treatment early on. "Any way you slice it, this is a crisis of enormous ethical and economic proportions," Westlund said in an interview Tuesday. He added that he is "very optimistic" that their proposal will clear the Senate today with support from Republicans. "The crisis in health care costs and health care quality is not a partisan issue," Westlund said. "If we don't do something there are going to be two categories of people with health insurance: the very, very wealthy and the very, very poor." Bates is quick to point out that the pair is not trying to bring Canadian-style socialized medicine to Oregon; it is not a single-payer system they seek. As for the cost, Bates has said taxpayers are already paying for the uninsured in the form of expensive emergency room visits and late-stage treatment for diseases that could have been treated earlier more inexpensively or altogether prevented. At Ashland Community Hospital, for instance, 5 percent of those admitted to the hospital are self-paying and likely uninsured, compared to 18 percent in the emergency room, according to spokeswoman Carolyn Johnson. Among area legislators who have voiced support for the plan: Republican Reps. Sal Esquivel and George Gilman of Medford; Bill Garrard of Klamath Falls; and Democrat Peter Buckley of Ashland. Republican state Sen. Doug Whitsett of Klamath Falls, however, voted against the bill in committee. A separate health care overhaul before the state Legislature was introduced by the Archimedes Movement, led by former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber, also a physician. Senate Bill 27 would pool state and private money with federal Medicare payments, making the proposal more difficult to enact because using money from seniors and the disabled would take an act of Congress. Dr. John Moorhead, past president of the Oregon Medical Association, said he would like to see the Bates-Westlund proposal and Kitzhaber's plan go forward in tandem. "Both bills, as a package, need to come out of (the Legislature), so we can get everyone in the system," including seniors, Moorhead said. Then, in two years, the plans' architects can bring forth a "definitive proposal," he added. Chris Rizo covers the state Legislature for the Ashland Daily Tidings. You can reach him at [email protected]. Current Comments: how can taxpayers option out of this universal hc system proposal which is a total scam and fraud by the far left wingers westlund and bates who are forcing all oregonians into a unaccountable hc state run system with no freedom of choice in the hc marketplace at all / ryan ( [email protected] ) - tualatin,or - June 20th, 8:54 PM In contrast to Ryan, I am looking forward to having a non-profit agency be the main insurer, and will be the first to sign up. I am sick, sick, sick, of the profit-hungry, paperwork-riddled private insurance companies and their commission-hungry agents (yes, you, Terry) Steve - Ashland - June 20th, 11:59 PM State and federal government are responsible for driving up the cost of healthcare insurance. Friends working in emergency wards of hospital tell me 30% or more of patients are illegal immigrants, and by and large they don't pay anything towards their medical bills. The other big problem is people having recurring drug overdoses. The government's mandate to serve has created a huge free-rider problem, borne by health insurance policy holders. Government needs to look at itself first. Bob Clark - Portland, Oregon - June 21st, 12:28 PM Perhaps Ryan should read a little about the Bates-Westlund plan and be a little more informed about what you're talking about: www.HopeforaHealthyOregon.com JTT - Ashland, OR - June 21st, 12:39 PM Bob Clark - don't confuse the issue with that canard. If the public decides to treat people who are ill but can't pay, that is a separate policy from providing insurance to everyone else on a not-for-profit basis. Yours is typical of the deliberate misinformation campaign by the health insurance industry. Steve - Japan - June 21st, 3:26 PM Scary words: I'm from the Government, I'm here to help you. Dennis Hildreth - Portland Or. - June 21st, 10:20 PM Really? Having had one annuity disappear into thin air, I'd even rather have the USG holding my social security that most private companies. Surprised, Hildreth? Did you go to a state university or college? Who built it, and who still subsidizes it? Who paved the Interstate you commute on? Name me one functioning Libertarian country or state and I'm packing to move there, now. Steve - Japan - June 22nd, 12:25 AM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us