Thanks to your efforts and the efforts of Oregonians across the state, the Oregon house approved House Bills 2009 and 2116 on Monday. Yesterday, the Senate gave the bills the green light and sent them to Governor Kulongoski's desk where they are all but assured to be signed into law.

The two bills, which are designed to work in tandem, will soon begin to provide health coverage to more of Oregon's vulnerable citizens while simultaneously undertaking an ambitious agenda to improve health care delivery and reduce medical inflation.

House Bill 2009 contains a number of sequenced health reform steps aimed at reducing the growing cost of health care and bringing more efficiency and transparency to the system.  Some reforms included in the bill are steps to streamline state health care agencies into one Oregon Health Authority, governed by a citizen-led Health Policy Board; simplify and standardize the transactions between medical providers and insurance carriers; and require the collection of all medical claims data to give consumers tools to compare the cost and quality of their health care.

House Bill 2116 will leverage nearly $2 billion over the next four years to help the state provide health insurance for 200,000 Oregonians through the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and a new shared-cost insurance product called "Kids Connect".  80,000 of those newly insured will be children under the age of 19 and the remaining will include an expansion of 35,000 low income adults to the OHP Standard program and an estimated  88,000 additional low income and disabled individuals expected in the OHP Plus program, which is federally mandated.

This is an important and meaningful step toward fixing our broken health care system and OHS owes a debt of gratitude to all our activists who attended meetings, made calls, wrote letters and emails, and shared their stories in testimony and with the media.  You restored Oregon as a national leader in health care reform.

However, making health care work for all Oregonians will take continued effort and time.  The passage of HB 2116 and 2009, while hugely significant, represents not an ending, but the end of the beginning.

Like you, OHS believes the time is now for health reform. All Oregonians need affordable access to quality health care. Our ultimate objective is to improve health. The Oregon legislature is set to vote on Monday, June 8th on two bills that will make health care more affordable for all Oregonians. Call your legislators and tell them to vote yes on House Bill 2009 and House Bill 2116.

The Passage of HB2009 and HB2116 will start Oregon down the path of comprehensive health reform. Recognizing that investing in meaningful ways to control spiraling health care costs and improving our delivery system is part of sustainable economic recovery. Soon, if your legislators vote yes, Oregon can begin to implement this historic legislation.

This package of bills will save Oregon’s Health care system up to $10 billion dollars over the next decade, draw over $1 billion in federal money into Oregon over the next four years. These bills also set up the framework needed to ensure all Oregonians have access to quality, affordable and secure health care over the coming years.

Our coalition of over 40 organizations representing over 800,000 Oregonians came together this session to support the recommendations of the Oregon Health Fund Board www.healthfundboard.oregon.gov. We have worked with both the House and Senate to produce legislation that is true to nearly all of the OHFB recommendations that were designed to make Oregon a healthier place.

OHS and our allies have recognized from the beginning of the session that the Health Fund Board’s plan needed to be sequenced over several years. The steps taken this session are only a beginning, and the legislature must take this critical first step on health reform.

Call your legislators and tell them to vote yes on House Bills 2009 and 2116.

On average, health insurance rates have skyrocketed nearly 5 times faster than Oregonian's wages over the past eight years.

Now more than ever, Oregon families and businesses are struggling under the weight of rising health care costs. Premiums in Oregon have risen nearly five times faster than wages in just eight years. Regence just received approval of more than a 14% increase in premiums, after raising rates 26% last year. That’s an increase of 40% in the last two years. Something has to be done. Oregonians can’t wait any longer. We need to make an investment now to enact real health reform and deliver direct cost savings to Oregonians.

Oregonians need accountability for rising health insurance rates. HB3145 stands up to skyrocketing health insurance premiums and establishes fair rules to protect Oregon families and businesses from excessive rate hikes. It is critical to take steps to boost accountability on health insurance costs as part of health reform this session. Please support HB3145 as part of the health reform package. HB 3145 will make health care more affordable by establishing:

• Clear Standards. Strengthens and clarifies standards a rate hike must meet show it is not excessive. State officials will consider criteria such as the insurer's full financial position, including surplus levels and investment income; and their efforts to cut waste – controlling costs while maintaining or improving the quality of health care.

• Transparency and Streamlining. Requires the Insurance Division to set rules standardizing required rate filing information from insurers, and clarifying what information, if any, should be exempt from public disclosure to protect trade secrets.

• Accountability. Gives affected consumers and businesses the ability to weigh in on a proposed rate increase before it goes into effect through a 30-day public comment period, and establishes a public hearing process.

It is obvoius, if nothing meaningful is done our health care system will collapse. That is the cost of doing nothing.. The Oregon Health Fund Board recommendations need to be passed and funded this session. We need to make an investment now to enact real health reform and deliver direct cost savings to Oregonians.

The Health Fund Board has calculated that the investment of approximately $6 million this session to fund the reform package will save hundreds of millions of dollars over three years. It is time for the legislature to act and pass health reform. Please support the health reform package of recommendations from the Oregon Health Fund Board.

Too many Oregonians don’t have access to quality, affordable health care. Oregon must create healthy communities by covering all people living in Oregon starting with expanding access to cover all children and more low income adults.  That's why our coalition United For A Healthy Oregon supports HB 2116.

We have an opportunity to get a federal match of more than $2 for every day raised by the proposed provider tax.Oregon cannot afford to leave money on the table in Washington, D.C.. Our federal tax dollars belong here in Oregon providing health care and creating jobs. Oregon needs health care reform, and we can’t afford to wait! The Legislature should pass HB2116 now to bring over $1 billion in federal dollars in Oregon to provide health care for more Oregonians and help save jobs.

In the middle of the largest economic crisis we’ve faced in years, Oregon’s legislature has got to do something for the growing number of struggling families out there. Making sure uninsured children have health coverage is a crucial step they can take. They should pass HB2116 now to make that happen. Worrying about how to pay for the visit to the pediatrician their kid needs is one thing parents shouldn’ t have to worry about right now.

One out of every five Oregonians is currently uninsured and that number is rising because of the economy. That’s mind-boggling. The cost of health care for the uninsured, often provided through hospital emergency rooms, increases the cost of health care and insurance premiums for the rest of us with insurance. It would be more cost effective if everyone had affordable coverage and preventive care.

The current path is not sustainable and we’re all paying the price. HB2116 will begin to change that by covering more Oregonians.

Oregonians urge lawmakers to "Fix our broken health care system!"

On April 8th, our coalition United for a Health Oregon brought over 400 hundred people from every corner of Oregon to the state capitol in Salem.  The message, which was delivered to nearly every state senator and representative was clear "The time for health care reform is now.  Every Oregonian needs a access to quality, affordable health care"

Thank you to all those who participated in making the day a big success.  Your committment to fixing our broken health care system is an inspiration to us all!

Click here to hear Kboo's coverage of the day.