Provider updates

In 2017, a bipartisan majority of Oregon Legislators came together to stabilize the Oregon Health Plan and assure that Oregonians will be able to afford health care.

The funding mechanism the Legislature created will be up for a vote by Oregon citizens in a special election January 23, 2018.

The same coalition of health care experts and advocates, businesses and unions, hospitals and retirees that supported the original legislation is urging Oregonians to vote Yes on Measure 101 and continue to protect health care for the most vulnerable Oregonians, especially children, seniors and people with disabilities.

Why do they say yes on Measure 101?

• They know that 49 other states use the same kind of assessments that Measure 101 uses to fund health care.
• They know that if Measure 101 fails, Oregon will lose between $210 and $320 million and also will face the loss of up to $5 billion in matching federal funds.
• They know that other options available to the Legislature will be few, including eliminating health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of Oregonians.
• They know that uninsured Oregonians who can’t get needed preventive care will be less healthy and will have no options except hospital emergency rooms, where costs are higher.
• They know that the cost of caring for people who have no insurance will be shifted to those who are insured and everyone will pay more.

But most of all, they believe no one should have to choose between bankruptcy and serious illness. They know and care about their friends and neighbors who need the health care help Measure 101 funds provide. A remarkable 95 percent of Oregonians are now insured, compared to nearly 20 percent in 2010.

Do you have a story about what having health insurance has meant to you in the last few years? To share your story, go to yesforhealthcare.org/stories.