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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2007)
Lawmakers nibble around edges trying to fix health care Medium-sized steps were what labor was able to achieve this year in Salem About 650,000 Oregonians have no health insurance. Three million other Oregonians have access to health in- surance, but at a greater and greater cost, to someone — employers, gov- ernment, or themselves — every year. What did Oregon lawmakers do this year about this institutional crisis? More than the U.S. Congress, which is where the national problem could be solved. But less than they could have. Many health system reform pro- posals backed by Oregon labor organi- zations fell victim to opposition from the hospital, insurance and pharma- ceutical industries. “The profiteers in the health care industry have a hammer lock on the whole system,” said Arthur Towers, political director of Service Employ- ees International Union (SEIU) Local 503. “So it feels like a huge victory even when we take a medium-sized step.” On health care at least, medium- sized steps were what labor was able to achieve this year in Salem. The most comprehensive was Sen- ate Bill 329, a bill closely tracked by the labor-backed health-care-voter group Oregonians for Health Security that was signed into law June 28. If it fulfills the hopes of its authors, Sena- tors Ben Westlund and Alan Bates, all Oregonians will be insured in a few years time. SB 329, the product of a year’s work by a Senate task force, sets up a health insurance purchasing pool that any individual or group in Oregon can join and that uninsured individuals would have to join or face a tax penalty. The idea is to get a better rate from insurance companies by combin- ing hundreds of thousands or millions of Oregonians into one giant pur- chaser. The insurance product they purchase would be closely regulated to guarantee certain minimum bene- fits, including preventive care, which would be fully covered with no co-pay or deductible. Employers and labor-management health trusts could still offer their cur- rent insurance, or they could join the pool and pay the premiums for em- ployees. Bates, the bill’s co-sponsor, says he thinks it will cost around $350 a month per person, but most of those who are currently uninsured will pay only part of that. The program would stretch federal Medicaid dollars so that everyone earning up to four times the federal poverty line would get some subsidy. The bill passed handily in the House and Senate, with just 13 “no” votes among the two chambers’ 90 members. If it’s supposed to save money by cutting into insurance com- pany profit margins, why didn’t the in- surance industry oppose it? Because, Bates explains, they’ll make up for it in volume — right now the uninsured are a lost market opportunity. None of this will happen immedi- ately. SB 329 sets up a seven-person panel, with staff support, to work out details of how the program would op- erate. They’ll give a progress report to the Legislature in its special session next February, and then present the fi- nal program for approval in the 2009 legislative session. That’s when the tough vote will take place. Another health care reform to pass this session was the governor’s Healthy Kids Plan, which would raise the cigarette tax by 85 cents a pack to pay for insurance coverage for all 117,000 of Oregon’s uninsured chil- dren. Lawmakers couldn’t get the three-fifths majority needed to pass the tax increase, and instead referred to voters on the November 2007 bal- lot. Medicare covers all those 65 and over. So if Oregon covers all kids 18 and younger, that leaves just 19-64 — 46 years — to worry about. It’s incre- mental. Even more incremental is Ore- gon’s prescription drug bulk purchas- ing program (OPDP). It expanded this year without a peep of opposition from the pharmaceutical lobby, which fought its founding in 2003 and its ex- pansion in 2005 and 2006. Now any individual or group can join Oregon’s pool and get a discount on prescrip- tion drugs. That’s what backers had started out proposing in 2003, but the pharmaceutical lobby was able to limit the pool to individuals over 54. After backers failed to expand the program in the 2005 session, they took it to voters in 2006 and got it broadened to local governments and E E FR uninsured individuals. Pharma must have given up: the proposal to expand the program to private businesses and health plans passed 58-0 in the House. It was easy to support some- thing when it had no opposition, a Re- publican lawmaker told Oregonians for Health Security Director Maribeth Healey. Another pooling proposal finally saw the light of day — combining the state’s 198 school districts to bargain better rates on health insurance cover- age for 85,000 education employees and their families. While past Repub- lican-led sessions had stopped the bill, early this year, Democrats over- came objections from the Oregon School Boards Association, which had profited by acting as an insurance broker. BARGAIN COUNTER Free ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Send to: NW Labor Press, PO Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 • 15 words or less • Include address label from front page and telephone number • Sorry, we cannot accept ads over the telephone • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • Type or print legibly Classified ads MUST include area code on all phone numbers or they will not be published THE UNION PLUS ® MORTGAGE PROGRAM Provided Exclusively by Chase Home Finance Automotive When it comes to mortgages, we’re taking a stand for Union members. 1997 CHRYSLER CONCORDE, looks and drives good, $3,800 (under KBB) OBO. 503 409- 1052 (Salem) 1993 CORVETTE CONV, wht/red, blk top, AT, AC, 20,594 miles, $19,000. 503 236-5822 (Jim) 1968 CHEVROLET 10 pickup, $500. 503 922- 0265 1975 CJ5 JEEP project. 503 623-8873 1972 or so PORCHE 924 body fair, all there, good motor, 5 spd trans, lost title, $650. 503 726- 3280 (Jack) 1995 CHEV VAN conversion, raised roof, 350, many extras, leather, TV, VCR, original owner, $7,000. 541 271-1321 2001 CHEVY BLAZER LS, V-6, 4-dr, 4-WD, white w/gray interior, all power, 1 owner, 50k mi, $8,900. 503-669-5324 Chase is backing union members with the Union Plus® Mortgage Program — a home purchase and refinancing program exclusively for union members, their parents and children. • FREE Mortgage Assistance Benefit If you are unemployed or disabled. • A wide variety of mortgages Choose from fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, and low- or no-closing costs options. • Special Lending First-time homebuyer and less-than-perfect credit programs. • Savings on closing costs Member-only savings on new purchases and refinance. 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P-UP 104 2A-7604 10/05 PAGE 10 Housing 280 ACRES CENTRAL Oregon, small cabin, wa- ter well, secluded, 30% down, terms, $280,000. 541 468-2961 ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation home, 3 bed, sleeps 8, beachfront, all amenities, $175/nite. 503 842-9607 Sporting Goods INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH bench press bench; heavy duty exercise bar and collars; two 60 lb NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS plates, smaller plates. 503 656-6679 (Harold) DEER RIFLES, $150 & $325; Olds coronet, $75, books, military non-fiction, $80. 503 888-3423 (Dave) ATTN: BOWHUNTERS, 60-80lbs Oneida Screaming Eagle bow, arrows, targets and hunt- ing supplies. 503 652-8590 1971 KIT CAMPER, no leaks, 9’ long, good shape, $635. 503 698-2917 (Bill) LEFT HAND golf clubs, two sets of carts, bags, extra large driver, balls and extras. 503 590-7809 Miscellaneous SIX CASE pop machines, cans or bottles, $400. 503 693-0694 GENERATOR LOAD bank, 50kw multi-steps, 1 & 3 phase multi voltages, air cooled, portable, $500. 541 974-0551 TOW BAR, $500; jumper cables w/case, $15; creeper, $10; 3/4 “ ball valve, $5; aluminum stool, $25. 503 669-0162 GOOD TREAD mill, $50. 503 557-6413 or 503 367-9972 IRS PROBLEMS? 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