Roots • Jan. 5-11, 2018
E d ito r ia l
Page 3
ote yes on Measure 101 for all Oregonians
irst do no harm. That’s a centuries-old tenet when
it comes to health care. It’s worth keeping in mind
when it comes to Measure 101, which asks voters
to ensure coverage for hundreds of thousands of
Oregonians, or let the bottom drop out and hope for
something better.
Measure 101 is the Republican response to the
Democrat-supported HB 2391. That bill was approved by
the Oregon State Legislature and signed by Gov. Kate
Brown last year. Among other things, it established
temporary assessments on insurance companies, some
hospitals, managed care
organizations and the benefit
plan for public employees. The
assessments - or taxes - are
h h m h h h h b
part of the package to
continue funding Oregon’s
Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act -
approximately 350,000 Oregonians. Some of the funding
is earmarked to stabilize insurance premiums for
individuals and families.
Three Republican lawmakers circulated a petition that
garnered enough signatures to send the assessments to
the ballot for a special Jan. 23 election.
Opponents of the measure say the cost will simply be
passed on to consumers, and that is a valid concern.
Insurance companies are allowed to increase premium
rates up to 1.5 percent as a result of the assessments.
But if Measure 101 fails, consumers will also bear the
burden of a $500 million gap in the state’s Medicaid
program. And when matching federal funds are factored
in, we’re looking at an estimated $1.3 billion negative
impact in the 2017-19 budget. That’s a lot of money -
and lives - on the table.
No piece of legislation is perfect, particularly ones
that involve taxes and health care entitlements - and if
you’re skeptical of how both are managed, you’ll agree
that Measure 101 has its imperfections.
The entire system is broken and needs an overhaul,
say opponents, who believe stopping this tax and
thwarting this form of Medicaid funding will trigger
better ideas for cost savings. Maybe they’re right, and
who can argue against fostering better and brighter
ideas from Salem? But at what cost?
Rep. Julie Parrish, a
chief petitioner on the
F
measure and opponent of the tax, has likened the
process to re-breaking a bone that has mended badly in
order for it to heal properly.
But we’re not talking about just incentivizing political
process here, or even mending broken bones for that
matter. We’re talking lives - lives that are threadbare to
begin with, that have no safety net to weather a political
storm.
Opponents say that they do not intend to let anyone
lose Medicaid coverage if the measure fails, but they’ve
failed to offer such a guarantee - because they can’t. No
one can. If this measure fails and the assessments are
repealed, the state is under no obligation to pay for the
Medicaid coverage for the 350,000 people who joined as
part of the expansion.
We’re in a period when the health care of the most
vulnerable Oregonians is in the crosshairs of a federal
government bent not only on undoing the Affordable
Care Act, but carving up Medicaid, Medicare and Social
Security. Approximately 1 out of 4 Oregonians rely on
the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid provider.
The greatest numbers of OHP recipients are in the
state’s most rural counties. Among youths, 42 percent of
Oregonians under the age of 9 are insured by OHP.
For every dollar spent on health care, there are
immeasurable savings in avoiding more costly
consequences down the line.
These are frightening times for anyone who relies on
that assistance and is struggling to stay housed, has a
child with special needs, lives with their own disability or
is simply in need during a rough patch in life.
We witness those rough patches every day at Street
Roots. It is eye-opening to see how fragile our friends
and neighbors are.
“I had a heart attack six months ago,” said Street
R o o ts v e n d o r M ich elle H a m b erg , p ic tu re d below. “I h ad
heart surgery, and without (the) Oregon Health Plan, I
would’ve been gone.”
“OHSU and Medicaid helped me get sober on July 13,
2012,” said vendor Ron Sanford. “I was homeless and a
chronic alcoholic at the end of my rope. It literally saved
my life.”
Life turned around for Bettyjo Griffiths after she
qualified for Medicaid two years ago. She had gone years
without health care prior to signing up in the expansion.
“Before I got my dentures people wouldn’t even look
at me or even give me a job. They wouldn’t take me
seriously. Now I have a beautiful smile, I’m confident,
which makes me more approachable because I don’t
have to hide the fact I don’t have teeth. If you don’t look
together, no one will take you seriously. It changed
everything. I started getting jobs here and there. People
were willing to come talk to me. Having health care has
made a huge difference in my life.”
These are not pawns in the decades-long partisan
argument about fiscal conservatism versus tax-and-spend
policies. These are entire communities that benefited
greatly by the Medicaid expansion and now rely on the
coverage for greater stability. These are workers who
have seen their wages lie dormant while the cost of
health care, food and housing are now barely within
reach. Meanwhile, efforts to raise revenues to fund low-
income housing - including ending the mortgage interest
deduction for second homes, raising the transient hotel
tax, and allowing for local real estate transfer fees - were
kicked to the legislative curb. It’s easy to see how the
opposition’s promises to find the money elsewhere feel
empty.
Street Roots has endorsed Measure 101 because we
know the people hanging in the balance. Hundreds of
other organizations, including hospitals and labor unions,
have endorsed it as well.
To do no harm, Measure 101 needs to pass. Still, we
support future efforts in Salem to do better, to eliminate
careless spending and to find that interconnectivity on
issues, challenges, opportunities and solutions that are
critical to so many vulnerable Oregonians.
something
that you’ve
written published
in our pages, or would
like to get involved as a
member of our reporting staff,
contact Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl at
503-228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org.
We ask that all submissions include the
author's name and contact information,
if available.
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