Haunting Halloween hoopla I Section B
An independent newspaper
unvw. dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 43 | Wednesday, October 27, 2004
★ AMERICA VOTES 2004 ★
Closing arguments on medical lawsuits
Constitutional rights and the availability, cost
of health care key issues surrounding Measure 35
BY JARED PABEN
NEWS EDITOR
Measure 35 proponents tell stories about
foolhardy multimillion-dollar settle
ments for victims of medical mistakes,
rising insurance costs that drive away doctors
and a state left with dangerously few health
care providers.
Measure 35 opponents tell stories
about lives ruined by the mistakes of a it %
few bad doctors, a callous health-care
system that tries to push it under the rug
and insurance companies escaping desper- W
ately needed reform.
On Tbesday, Oregonians get to decide which 1
story they subscribe to and whether they want 1
to support a $500,000 cap on noneconomic
damages awarded to victims of a health care
provider's negligence or recklessness. The meas
ure states that the cap would apply only to non
economic damage awards, such as pain, mental
suffering, emotional distress and personal costs.
The measure would not limit awards reimbursing
people for medical and health expenses, loss of in
come and other expenses.
Both sides agree there is a lot at stake in the
complicated issue. Proponents say the availabil
ity and cost of health care for all Oregonians is
at stake, while measure opponents argue that
our constitutional rights are at stake.
Measure proponents
Spokeswoman for the Yes on 35 campaign
Kelly Stoner said her campaign is a doctor
headed effort to fix Oregon’s health care crisis.
Because of the high costs of malpractice insur
ance and the risks of getting sued for large
sums, doctors are flocking from Oregon en
mass, leaving many areas without adequate
protection, she said. For
example, in the last five
years or so, Oregon has
lost about 34 percent of
its obstetricians, and
there are only 51 neurosurgeons left after about
one-fifth of them left
the state, she said.
Many commu
nities don’t
have any
care left,
she
\ said.
|1 “Many
1f of the neuro
surgeons in Oregon are going
to leave if something isn’t done
about this crisis,” she said. “It’s
about preserving patient access
to care ... You never know when
you’re going to need a doctor, es
pecially in an auto accident.”
There are only two neuro
surgeons left in Oregon that
deal with children, and
both are in Port
land, she
said. This is
especially
frightening to her
because as a young girl she fell off her horse,
putting her in a coma for about a week and re
quiring care from a neurosurgeon.
University Health Center physician Paula
Ciesielski wrote in an e-mail interview that the
rates for insurance in some specialties can
reach $60,000 to $75,000 per year, which leaves
doctors with four choices:
“They can absorb the cost of the insurance into
their practice, they can raise the price of care to re
flect the increased cost, they can limit their prac
tice to less risky procedures or they can quit prac
ticing in Oregon,” she wrote. “In Oregon,
I
delivering babies is one of the highest risk
procedures. If doctors limit their practices, then ac
cess for patients is limited. If we can't attract
young physicians to the area because of an unsta
ble liability issue in Oregon, then we all suffer. ”
Stoner said a similar cap on noneconomic
damages was put into place in 1987, but the
kX Oregon Supreme-Court ruled against it in
\ 1999, deciding that the legislature didn’t
j have constitutional authority to implement
| the measure. Premiums have skyrocketed
since the loss of the cap, Stoner said.
Eugene neurologist Ray Englander is
leading the Yes on 35 campaign’s Lane
/ County efforts and is on the board for
Northwest Physicians Mutual Insurance
Jtf Company, a doctor-owned malpractice in
■ surance provider that covers about 23,000
■ doctors in the state, he said.
f Englander said the cap did make a differ
ence in keeping rates down and that since
then the state hasn’t had a “competitive
litigation climate.”
Englander said the measure does
n’t propose a cap on settlements
if the doctor was found to have
intentionally hurt somebody
and doesn’t propose a cap
on punitive damages.
Stoner said the oppo
sition’s claim that the
problem is a few bad doctors raising rates for
everybody is false, insisting that over the past
10 years about 95 percent of the claims were
filed against doctors with one or fewer previous
claims against them.
Measure opponents
Dylan Malone has traveled around the coun
try for years as an advocate for patients’ rights.
He and his son, Ian, have appeared in television
commercials that have been broadcast across
the nation urging support for a national
MEASURE 35, page 12A
Technology
a popular
study aid
for students
In addition to high-tech
gadgets, many students also
turn to academic services
BY ANTHONY LUCERO
NEWS REPORTER
For some students, a study aid is a load
of caffeine and staying organized involves
an old notebook with messy handwriting
sprawled with lists of facts and figures to
memorize. However, many students at the
University are employing technology both in
and out of the classroom to help them un
derstand or organize the material.
The Digital Duck at the University Book
store is the first place most students go to
grab the technology that will help them get
their work done.
“The products we sell most are iPods and
Apple Computers,” said Rachel Drummond,
a Digital Duck employee. “These students
come in and when they want a computer for
school, they are looking for ones that they
can write their essays on, listen to music and
STUDY AIDS, page 6A
UNDERSTANDING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Electoral equation: population equals power
Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of senators (always two) plus the
number of its representatives. However, the congressional leaders are not electors. Electors are
generally nominated by parties at the conventions. The presidential candidate that gains the majority
of electoral votes wins the election.
Population,
not land
A state s congres
sional delegation
Is determined by
its general popu
lation, last count
ed by the Census
Bureau In 2000.
States with higher
population rates
have more repre
sentatives.
■I People
1 Square miles
18 representatives :
20 I
electoral j
— votes !
44,82*
2 senators:
|l4mUHon
83,574
2 senators:
2 representatives
Stately-state number of ateetora ami veto requirement*
In 48 states. the winning ticket's nominated electors are also elected, In effect, whichever
presidential tlckot gets tha moat popular voted win* all tea state d electors,
CD Majority
winner take* all.
but elector* are
not legally bound
to vote for a spe
cific candidate
El TVvo vote*
go to overall win*
ner of etete and
remaining vote*
go to winner of
the district
HI Majority winner
take* ail and electors
are legally bound or
pledged to vote ter a
•pacific candidate
£□ Saltei mea
sure this year could
distribute votes to
district winner
Majority of votes wins •tocttan
■1 Majority CZ3 Total votes
This ysar
tw Teddy Rooseva* aw 336 votes
■■MMEE! *7*
lilt Abraham UiortVife v&m
mm **
»w
ffi* George vmm
roundfi itiitcri ttectoul
The Electoral CoHoqo wm
**taW»*hed by the founds a*
i rytrififm^co fratwaon otrctoon
lor the pratfJai# by Ccnqr***
and election by pope My vote,
AlftVfiiviAf Mty*ni#r>n ui<»^ fimuonn
the ftrst to write #mA the
concept of electors in the
Federattet Papt
Students
concerned
about lost
ballots
Improper registration, such
as a wrong address or county,
has nullified several ballots
BY MORIAH BALINGIT
NEWS REPORTER
Despite the approaching election dead
line, many students have still not received
their ballots, said ASUO Legal Services Di
rector Ilona Koleszar.
Koleszar said this is often due to students
filling out voter registration forms incorrectly.
“If a student listed inconsistent address
es, the election office flagged it as a ques
tionable application,” she said. “If a student
did not list all of the information requested,
the election office won’t register the voter
because the registrant failed to meet mini
mum requirements for registration.”
Courtney Hight, the Oregon Student Asso
ciation Campus Organizer, said another rea
son students may not have their ballots is if
they listed incorrect addresses, or if they listed
an address in another county. Hight said she
contacted the Lane County Elections Office
when concerned students informed her they
still had not received their ballots.
“According to them, they’re still sending
out ballots," she said.
However, Lane County Elections official
Annette Newingham said people who
haven’t received their ballots should call the
office “sooner rather than later.”
Koleszar urges students who did not re
ceive their ballots to go in person to Lane
County Elections on 275 W. 10th Ave. to veri
fy if they’re registered to vote in this county. If
they are registered, they should ask for a re
placement ballot. If they find that they’re not,
they should ask for a provisional ballot.
But two students who followed this ad
vice said they were told they could not re
ceive these ballots, Koleszar said. She added
that she thinks this happened because re
ceptionists at the elections office were mis
informed.
Jed Barden, a University law student,
said he and his wife registered to vote in the
ASUO office but never received their ballots.
“We went down to Lane County Elections
last Thursday and they told me I was pretty
much out of luck,” he said.
Barden, who is registered to vote in
Washington state but was trying to change
his registration to Oregon, said he was also
denied a provisional ballot when he re
quested one.
“The problem with the provisional bal
lots is that the people at the elections office
didn’t know how they worked,” he said.
Lane County Elections Supervisor Roxann
Marshall said if some part of a person’s eligi
bility is in question, they can receive a provi
sional ballot. The office will then research
their eligibility after the election to determine
whether the vote will be counted or not.
“In the meantime, we don’t want to dis
enfranchise voters,” she said.
Marshall said she didn’t know why Bar
den was denied a provisional ballot, but
added the concept of provisional ballots is
fairly new.
“I have a lot of new staff that aren’t famil
iar with all the laws,” she said.
No one at the office could figure out
BALLOTS, page 6A