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2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018 Oregonians vote on Medicaid taxes as costs soar Ballots are due tonight at 8 By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND — Ore- gon aggressively expanded its Medicaid rolls under the Affordable Care Act, adding enough people to leave only 5 percent of its population uninsured — one of Ameri- ca’s lowest rates. Now, with the reduction of a federal match that cov- ered those enrollees, the state is calling on voters to decide how to pay for its ballooning Medicaid costs. A special election today asks Oregonians whether they approve of a tax on hospitals, health insurers and managed care companies that would leave Medicaid, as it is now, untouched. More than 1 in 4 residents here rely on it. Maine voters were in the national spotlight when they recently approved Medicaid expansion. But experts say Oregon’s election is the only instance of voters — not law- makers — getting the final say on the complicated ques- tion of how to fund rising Medicaid costs. The outcome could have significant consequences for the state’s health care spending. “If it’s not supported, you AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus Kelly Burke walks down the steps of her home in Portland past several lawn signs, one at far left supporting Oregon’s Measure 101. Burke has volunteered for phone banks to garner support for the measure. have a huge hole, and where do you go from there?” said Stacey Mazer, senior staff associate with the National Association of State Budget Officers. “I followed these issues starting in the fall, and this was the biggie.” Measure 101 would impose a 0.7 percent tax on some hospitals and a 1.5 per- cent tax on the gross health insurance premiums collected by insurers and on managed care organizations, raising anywhere from $210 million to $320 million over the next two years. Proponents call the tax an “assessment” and say money raised could cover the more than 350,000 low-income Oregonians who were added to the plan since 2014 while state lawmakers work out a long-term solution. The loss of that revenue could jeopardize an additional $630 million to $960 million in federal Medicaid matching funds that flow to the poorest in the state, according to the nonpartisan voter pamphlet. That possibility prompted the very hospitals and health insurers who would be taxed to come out as the measure’s biggest backers. They say the cost of the taxes would be less than that of uninsured emer- gency-room visits. The ballot measure arose from a grassroots campaign to put parts of a bipartisan legislative funding solution passed last year before vot- ers. Republican state Rep. Julie Parrish and several col- leagues were angered by por- tions of the bill that exempt large, self-insured corpora- tions like Nike from Medic- aid taxes but not Oregonians who buy insurance on health care exchanges. They also believe hospi- tals and insurers will pass the cost to consumers, despite language that limits premium rate increases to 1.5 percent. Parrish, who represents a Portland suburb, spearheaded the drive to collect more than 84,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Her cellphone number appears in the official voter’s guide with a note urging voters to call her with questions. “This is not a ‘We hate Medicaid’ referendum,” Par- rish said. “This is about the fact that our colleagues put forward some pieces of the funding package that we believed to be unfair, unequi- table and unsustainable.” Those in favor of the mea- sure say Parrish’s opposition to the taxes is what’s unsus- tainable. More than 175 orga- nizations have backed the pro-Measure 101 campaign, including former Gov. John Kitzhaber, an emergency room doctor. People who support Mea- sure 101 have raised $2.8 million. Parrish and her allies have raised $353,000. Portland resident Kelly Burke has volunteered at a pro-Measure 101 phone bank. She briefly lost her insurance years ago when she was pregnant with her second child. She now has a serious auto-immune disease and is thankful she has insur- ance through her partner’s employer. “What people don’t under- stand is that people are work- ing, but they still can’t afford health care,” she said. Medicaid is a feder- al-state collaboration origi- nally meant for poor families and severely disabled people. Over the years, it’s grown to become the largest govern- ment health insurance pro- gram, now covering 1 in 5 Americans. In 2014, Oregon was one of 32 states and the District of Columbia to allow peo- ple making 138 percent of the federal poverty line to qual- ify for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. That’s $34,600 for a family of four. Before, they had to make less to qualify. The changes brought Ore- gon’s slew of new enrollees. For the first two years, the fed- eral government covered the full cost for them — and for those in other states. FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 49 40 45 Rain; breezy this evening A little morning rain, then a few showers Breezy with periods of rain Full Salem 45/48 Newport 46/47 Jan 31 Coos Bay 47/49 New Feb 7 La Grande 38/45 A high wind warning has been issued for the North Coast this afternoon and evening. Winds to the south will range from 30 mph to 40 mph with gusts of 60 mph from 1 p.m. Lakeview 26/41 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 12:42 p.m. none Low 2.2 ft. Hi 40 47 53 50 52 46 50 49 50 55 Today Lo 34 38 46 42 47 32 38 46 46 46 W sf r r r r c r r r r Hi 43 45 48 46 49 41 46 49 47 48 Wed. Lo 29 27 40 35 43 22 31 39 41 40 W c r r r r r r r r r City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 47 46 49 54 50 52 37 50 48 43 Today Lo 44 42 45 44 45 46 35 44 45 36 W r c r r r r sn r r sn Hi 48 51 51 49 48 49 41 47 50 50 Wed. Lo 37 33 39 37 38 42 29 36 39 30 W r r r r r r r r r sn TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi Lo 56 34 55 38 36 22 38 19 35 26 40 23 57 28 -12 -29 82 73 39 23 40 25 60 39 74 50 47 28 83 70 46 27 62 41 56 37 54 25 62 36 40 25 41 24 55 44 47 44 66 38 REGIONAL CITIES City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend W s r sf s pc sn s sf pc sf pc s s s c c pc r s r sf pc c r r Wed. Hi Lo 51 32 39 20 34 26 51 30 40 29 30 22 59 30 -25 -30 83 72 33 23 49 33 61 39 75 48 51 33 79 64 46 26 58 39 42 26 59 34 42 27 45 30 46 32 55 46 49 39 47 30 Applications are available on the school district’s web- site, astoria.k12.or.us, and due by 3 p.m., Feb. 2. The school board will appoint applicants at their regular meeting next month. Contact Superinten- dent Craig Hoppes at chop- pes@astoria.k12.or.us for more information. to 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. It will mostly affect beaches and headlands. Winds may blow down trees, branches and power lines. Small power outages are possible, and driving may be difficult. LOTTERIES DEATH Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Tonight's Sky: An hour before sunrise, the stars that appear during early evening in summer also appear just before dawn in winter. unexpired term ending in June 2019. Applicants must have been a resident of the district for at least one year and be a regis- tered voter. Submit applica- tions to the district office on the third flood of the Capt. Robert Gray School building at 785 Alameda Ave. The Daily Astorian Baker 34/43 Burns 26/42 Ashland 40/46 The Daily Astorian High wind warning today on North Coast Ontario 32/44 Klamath Falls 32/41 School budget committee needs members The Astoria School Board needs three candidates to serve on the school district’s budget committee. The positions include a new three-year term expiring June 2020, an unexpired term ending in June and another Roseburg 44/49 Brookings 46/48 Feb 15 John Day 41/48 Bend 38/45 Medford 38/46 UNDER THE SKY High 8.6 ft. 6.7 ft. Prineville 38/48 Lebanon 45/48 Eugene 42/46 Last Pendleton 42/51 The Dalles 38/49 Portland 45/51 Sunset tonight ........................... 5:07 p.m. Sunrise Wednesday .................... 7:47 a.m. Moonrise today ......................... 11:10 a.m. Moonset today ................................... none City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC 52 45 Remaining cloudy with a little rain Tillamook 46/48 SUN AND MOON Time 6:00 a.m. 6:38 p.m. 48 41 Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 45/49 Precipitation Monday ............................................ 0.27" Month to date ................................... 6.83" Normal month to date ....................... 7.52" Year to date ...................................... 6.83" Normal year to date .......................... 7.52" Jan 24 SATURDAY REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Monday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 51°/40° Normal high/low ........................... 50°/38° Record high ............................ 62° in 1981 Record low ............................. 16° in 1943 First 49 40 Rain ALMANAC FRIDAY Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W s pc pc s s c pc c pc pc s pc pc s sh s c pc s pc s pc r r s Jan. 20, 2018 HILLARD, Joseph A., 52, of Astoria, died in Portland. Crown Memorial Center in Portland is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIAL Saturday, Jan. 27 GRAYBEAL, Daniel Mark — Memorial and potluck recep- tion at 1 p.m. at Imago Dei, 1302 S.E. Ankeny St. in Portland. All are welcome. Graybeal, 39, of Albany, formerly of Cannon Beach and Seaside, died Jan. 5, 2018, in Albany. Fisher Funeral Home in Albany is in charge of the arrangements. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Clatsop County Human Services Advisory Council, 4 to 5:30 p.m., 800 Exchange St., Room 430. Astoria Library Board, 5:30 p.m., Library Flag Room, 450 10th St. Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. WEDNESDAY Astoria Parks Board, 6:45 a.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Clatsop County Housing Authority Board, 5 p.m., Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St. Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St. Astoria Planning Commis- sion, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. OREGON Monday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 6-6-3-5 4 p.m.: 4-9-9-6 7 p.m.: 6-6-4-9 10 p.m.: 3-4-5-4 Monday’s Lucky Lines: 01- 08-12-16-19-22-25-32 Estimated jackpot: $30,000 Monday’s Megabucks: 4-6- 15-21-31-43 Estimated jackpot: $7 million WASHINGTON Monday’s Daily Game: 9-9-0 Monday’s Hit 5: 03-11-15- 25-33 Estimated jackpot: $250,000 Monday’s Keno: 02-04-09- 14-16-24-33-41-45-47-50- 51-56-60-61-66-70-71-72-75 Monday’s Lotto: 06-10-23- 25-31-47 Estimated jackpot: $1.4 million Monday’s Match 4: 14-15- 17-23 ON THE RECORD APPLIANCE PACKAGE DEALS APPLIANCE AND HOME FURNISHINGS 529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON 503-861-0929 Over 3 A 0 RS IN YE TSOP C LA NTY C OU Mattresses, Furniture & More! HOURS OPEN: MON-FRI 8-6 * SATURDAY * SUNDAY 10-4 We Service What We Sell DUII • At 8:48 p.m. Monday, Jason Riggs, 44, of Seaside, was arrested by the Seaside Police Department on the 710 block of 24th Avenue and charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants. His blood alcohol content was 0.12 percent. • At 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Micah Kekoa Domingcil, 23, of Astoria, was arrested by the The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. SUBSCRIBER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office on state High- way 202 and charged with DUII and reck- lessly endangering another person. • At 1:18 a.m. Saturday, Thomas James Kelley, 24, of Warrenton, was arrested by the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office on Commer- cial Street and Ninth Street and charged with DUII and recklessly endangering another person. 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