3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017
Republicans submit signatures for provider tax referral
Voters could
decide fate of
tax in January
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
and PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Pending fi nal
verifi cation of about 84,000
petition signatures by state
elections offi cials, Oregon vot-
ers will have a chance to weigh
in on parts of the state’s Med-
icaid funding plan in January .
Medicaid provides health
care coverage to the poor and
other qualifying groups, and is
jointly funded by the state and
the federal government. About
1.1 million people — a quarter
of the state’s population — are
on the Oregon Health Plan, the
Medicaid program.
Health care advocates,
unions and many Democratic
legislators argue that as many
as 350,000 may see reduced
benefi ts, or may be cut from
the program altogether if vot-
ers reject the parts of the fund-
ing plan that got a step closer
to the Jan. 23 ballot Thursday.
The Legislature passed a
bill this year to increase fed-
Paris Achen/Capital Bureau
Patty Wentz, spokesperson for the Coalition of Communi-
ty Health Clinics, answers questions during a press con-
ference on Referendum 301 Thursday in Portland.
eral Medicaid matching fund-
ing by collecting assessments
from the state’s hospitals,
insurers and coordinated care
organizations — the regional
networks of providers serving
Medicaid patients.
A group of Republican law-
makers — s tate Rep. Julie Par-
rish, R-Tualatin/West Linn,
Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Rose-
burg, and Rep. Sal Esquivel,
R-Medford — want voters to
weigh in on parts of that plan,
referred to as the “provider
tax.”
According to fi nancial
impact estimates approved for
the ballot last month, state rev-
enues could decline anywhere
between $210 million and $320
million if voters reject parts of
the legislation in question.
Since the state uses those
revenues to get federal match-
ing funds, the total effect
on the state budget could be
upward of $840 million.
The federal Affordable
Care Act allowed states to
extend eligibility for Medic-
aid to people making up to 138
percent of the federal poverty
level. That’s about $16,642 for
a single person and $33,948
for a family of four.
That
income
group
would likely face cuts in part
because the federal govern-
ment requires states to cover
pregnant women and people
with disabilities, but not peo-
ple who, but for the Affordable
Care Act, would not qualify
for Medicaid, said state Sen.
Richard Devlin D-Tualatin.
And the state must cover all or
none of those people.
Devlin said that it’s
unlikely that health care fund-
ing lost by a partial repeal
could come from another part
of the budget.
For example, it took months
for legislators to approve an
$8.2 billion funding pack-
age for education, an amount
many on both sides of the aisle
argued should be higher.
“We don’t have that much
in dollars sitting on the side
that we could use,” Devlin,
who chairs the Legislature’s
budget committee, said. “It
would be beyond the current
resources that we have.”
The petitioners say that they
don’t want to cut people from
the Oregon Health Plan —
Hayden is a dentist who sees
Medicaid patients, and Par-
rish says she grew up receiv-
ing Medicaid and other gov-
ernment programs — but they
want to force a conversation at
the L egislature about how the
state pays for the system.
In a press conference
Thursday afternoon, Parrish
and Hayden maintained that
the money could come from
elsewhere in the budget. Par-
rish argues a proposal to move
public employees onto plans
in the exchange, for example,
could save the state money.
“Budgeting
is
about
choices,” she said.
But other alternatives pro-
posed by Hayden during the
session were criticized as
“part logic and part fantasy” in
August by the chairman of the
House Committee on Health
C are, Rep. Mitch Greenlick, a
Democrat in Portland.
The petitioners have
labeled the legislation —
which allows the state to col-
lect payments from insurers,
CCOs and the Public Employ-
ees Benefi ts Board as well as
the state’s hospitals — as a
“sales tax on health care.”
Coos Bay sues over restrictive fl ood regulations
Associated Press
COOS BAY — Coos Bay
has fi led a lawsuit in federal court
against the National Marine
Fisheries Service over its rec-
ommendation for more restric-
tive fl ood plain regulations,
which would restrict develop-
ment in most of downtown.
The World reported the suit
was fi led Thursday objecting
to land use restrictions recom-
mended by the fi sheries ser-
vice to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s fl ood
insurance program in an opin-
ion issued last year.
Damien Schiff, an attorney
with the Pacifi c Legal Founda-
tion, which is representing the
city, said the biological opin-
ion from the fi sheries service
is an improper expansion of
both FEMA and the agency’s
authority.
Fisheries is asking FEMA
A coalition of more than
50 organizations is campaign-
ing to keep the law in place
and prevent cuts in the Ore-
gon Health Plan that would
likely result from a repeal,
said Meg Niemi, president of
Service Employees Interna-
tional Union Local 49. The
union is a member of the Coa-
lition of Community Health
Clinics.
The coalition held a press
conference in downtown Port-
land Thursday to highlight
what is at stake if the referen-
dum makes it on the ballot.
“Together, we’re going
to fi ght to protect health care
for families, for kids and for
the most vulnerable people in
Oregon,” Niemi said.
The law reduces health
insurance premiums for
those who purchase their
own insurance but could
mean increases for others of
about $5 per month in 2018,
said Patty Wentz, a coalition
spokesperson.
“We need people to vote
‘yes’ on Referendum 301
because it will protect health
care coverage for a million
people who are on Oregon
Health Plan and lower pre-
miums for hundreds of thou-
sands more,” Wentz said.
Volunteer
Pick of the Week
to place high-risk fl ood plains
off-limits to development
because it says it will better
protect endangered species
such as salmon and steelhead.
Flood plains are areas along
rivers, stream and shorelines
that are regularly inundated
with water.
Snoopy
11-Year Old Female
Staffy/Pit Terrier
Blend
Bring a new meaning
to family living
and playing.
Feds remove habitat protections for threatened sage grouse
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
Interior Department said
Thursday it is withdraw-
ing protections for 10 mil-
lion acres of federal lands
used by the threatened sage
grouse to open it up for energy
development.
The plan would allow min-
ing and other development
in areas where it now is pro-
hibited in six Western states:
Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
The Bureau of Land Man-
agement, an Interior agency,
said a recent analysis showed
that mining or grazing
would not pose a signifi cant
threat to the sage grouse, a
ground-dwelling, chicken-like
Oregon might add protections
for the marbled murrelet
Coming Saturday, October 14, 1:00 pm
Blessing
of the Animals
Bring Your Pet to be Blessed
Dog Training & Agility Shows
Pet Adoption
Donations Support
Clatsop County Animal Shelter
Sunday Services 10:00 am
Children’s Ministry
begins October 15, 10:00 am
✦ 503-861-2421 ✦
pioneerchurchpcusa.org
1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS
www.dogsncats.org
Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat
WE’LL SAVE YOU A BUNDLE
AND QUITE A FEW LAYERS.
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
Please come join us
By JES BURNS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Pioneer
Presbyterian
Church
( Next to Camp Rilea)
(See more on Petfinder.com/ )
C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER
Sponsored
By
W A NTED
Threatened bird
has lost habitat
A new report from the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and
Wildlife shows that despite
previous protections, the
marbled murrelet is still in
trouble.
And now, the state is con-
sidering whether to list the sea
bird as endangered under the
state’s endangered species act.
“Overall, it’s an imperiled
species, but ultimately the
question of whether to up-list
or not, that’s a commission
decision,” says Christina
Donehower of the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife.
The Fish and Wildlife
Commission is expected
to make that decision in
February.
The murrelet was listed as
threatened federally and by
Oregon in the 1990s. Environ-
mental groups are now asking
for the change in status.
Donehower says chang-
ing the status would force the
state to develop an offi cial
plan to protect the bird.
“Really the most direct
effects of listing … would
be for state owned or leased
lands,” she says.
bird that roams across vast
areas of the West.
The proposal would affect
less than one-tenth of 1 per-
cent of sage grouse-occupied
range across 11 states from
California to the Dakotas, offi -
cials said.
Another way we make
you feel better.
for a
Celebration of Life
— RECEIVE UP TO —
1,600
$
in honor of
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Marbled murrelets are a
threatened species.
Gabe Anastasiadis
Private forest lands could
be affected as well. Changes
in management of murrelet
habitat could curtail timber
harvest.
Marbled murrelets nest in
mature coastal forests of the
Pacifi c Northwest. Over the
past 25 years, they’ve lost
habitat on state and private
lands at a much higher rate
than on federally managed
land.
Saturday, October 7 th
12:30 pm
presents
THE BIRDS
with special permission from Dramatist Play Service
DIRECTED BY
SHEILA SHAFFER
WRITTEN BY
Conor McPherson
Diamond Heating, Inc.
1425 N. Roosevelt Dr., Seaside, OR 97138
503-717-1667
www.DiamondHeating.net
“Professional Performance with Lasting Value”
Fishhawk Fisheries
# 1-4th Street, Astoria
ASTOR STREET OPRY COMPANY
“A gripping, unsettling,
and moving look at human
relationships in the face of
societal collapse”
-Dramatist Play Service
Offer expires 11/17/2017.
*On a qualifying system purchase. Lennox system rebate offers range from $200 to $1,600. Some restrictions apply.
One offer available per qualifying purchase. See your local Lennox Dealer or www.lennox.com for details.
©2017 Lennox Industries Inc. Lennox Dealers are independently owned and operated businesses.
ASSISTANCE LEAGUE®
THE COLUMBIA PACIFIC
Presents the 10 th Annual
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ASSISTANCELEAGUECP.ORG
OR CALL 503.738.2672
CLATSOP PLAINS-WARRENTON HOMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 TH , 2017 11 AM
TICKETS $ 30
FROM A STORY BY
DAPHNE DU MAURIER
TO
4 PM
Tickets available at
Holly McHone Jewelers
1150 Commercial, Astoria
and
Columbia Bank Locations:
1122 Duane St., Astoria
630 SE Marlin Ave., Warrenton
301 Avenue A, Seaside
Show Dates :
October 6, 7, 13, 14,15, 20 & 21
Sunday Matinee
:
th
October 15
IN REBATES*
WITH THE PURCHASE OF A QUALIFYING LENNOX ® HOME COMFORT SYSTEM.
at 2 p.m.
House opens at 6:30 pm, with show beginning at 7 pm
SHOW RUNS THROUGH OCTOBER 21
Proceeds benefit the 2017/18 Operation School Bell ® program that will
provide clothing to over 650 Clatsop County children
ST
Tickets on Sale ONE HOUR before all shows
***Reservations Recommended***
For tickets, visit our website
www.astorstreetoprycompany.com
or call 503-325-6104
129 West Bond Street | Uniontown | Astoria
www.facebook.com/AstorStreetOpryCompany
HOMES ON TOUR
SPONSORS
BROWN (Sarah)
33861 Perkins Lane, Warrenton
WARREN HOUSE (Teale Adlemann)
107 NE Skipanon Dr., Warrenton
BACON (Don & Alicia)
92076 Whiskey Ln. Warrenton
KIRBY (Ken)
1158 SW Pine Dr., Warrenton
CHATEAU (Camp Rilea)
S. Oregon St., Warrenton
ZUNKEL
1236 SW Pine Dr., Warrenton
Autio Company &
Englund Marine & Supply
Dr. & Mrs. Miller
Dr. & Mrs. R. Keiser
RESTAURANT
FLORIST
Fort George
Mimi’s Florist
Warrenton Deep Sea
Bloomin’ Crazy
TOTEM Realty
El Compadre
Erickson Floral
Bayshore Animal Hospital
Clemente’s
Bloomin’ Crazy
US Bank
Dough Dough Bakery
Mimi’s Florist
Bigby Tree Service
Mo’s Restaurant
Erickson Floral