Photo courtesy of OSPIRG/The Siskiyou
Students from around the state attended and participated in the meeting to bring attention to the Oregon Health Fund Board's plan for health care.Students from around the state donned gauze, splints, crutches and bandages to promote civic engagement in reforming Oregon's health care system. Acting bruised and broken, they gathered in front of Kaiser Permanente Town Hall with signs and banners attracting attention from local media and citizens.
The bandaged members of the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group convened in Portland on Tuesday Feb. 19 for the Oregon Health Fund Board meeting. Advocates are promoting increased access, consumer protections, preventative and primary care, restrictions on prescription drug prices and eliminating unnecessary costs.
"Everyone knows health care costs more than it should," said Neil McLeod an OSPIRG board member and student at Lane Community College. "We're eager to see the Oregon Health Fund Board's plan to reduce costs, improve quality and expand access."
After the public demonstration, students attended the board meeting and listened as representatives from the community addressed the group appointed by Gov. Kulongoski to develop the health care reform. George Halvorson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, was the first to present suggestions. His focus was on factors that raise costs while he lamented lack of communication between offices particularly with medical records and uncoordinated caregivers.
"We deliver care very non-systematically in this country," Halvorson said. New technologies, an aging population and a decrease in health care workers were shown to be contributors in rising prices. The cost-cutting benefits of preventive care for common diseases such as asthma and diabetes were presented.
"We're not taking care of people until they hit the emergency room," Halvorson said. Other members of the private and public sector proceeded to speak to the board.
Part of the Oregon Safety Net Advisory Counsel asked for stable funding for safety net health clinics serving rural, tribal and school communities that may not have immediate access to hospitals or private physicians. Ellen Pinney, from the Oregon Heath Action Campaign, gave collective insight of local community members from several town hall meetings. She urged the need to raise public participation and awareness in order to better serve the community. "The public has got to understand and support what the legislature will do," Pinney said. Common concerns included the need for a choice of providers and a comprehensive set of benefits. People were also concerned with cost and delayed treatments or denial based on pre-existing conditions.
Dr. Mike Huntington and former Sen. Cliff Trow urged the board to learn from the plans of Michigan and Maine.
"We think of health care as a commodity to be sold rather than a service," Huntington said. They pleaded with board members to consider utilizing a publicly owned system and not to criminalize poverty, as with states that have fined people who could not afford mandatory health care plans. OSPIRG promoted both public and private interests.
The most important factor in the advocacy campaign is to get people involved in influencing the outcome of health care reform.
"We urge Oregonians of all stripes, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, insured and uninsured, to get involved in this important plan," said McLeod.
By sending a public comment or testifying in person at a board or committee meeting, anyone can voice their thoughts. There are also opportunities to participate by attending forums and hearings locally or by joining in online discussions with the Oregon Health Fund Board blog. Heidi Spero, a member of the SOU OSPIRG chapter, put it simply: "Decent health care oughta be a right of citizenship."
