S eptember 2 2 , 1993 » T ue P ortland O bserver
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k Further Alert On Health Care And Insurance
Last week we focused on the and Wellness Act (effective Novem
terrible disarra) at the national level, ber 4, 1993).” Requires health insur
let us see i f state and local healthcare ance polices that cover hospital, medi
initiatives arc more prom ising in cal or surgical expenses to provide
terms o f structure and commitment
reimbursement for pelvic exams and
A good place to begin w ould be among pap smear exams Schedule o f fre
the mishmash o f bills that passed or quency o f exam eligible for reim
failed during the 1993 Oregon Legis bursement required to be submitted to
lative Assembly
and authorized by the Director o f the
Senate B ill
Department o f In
5530
im p le
surance and F i
S en ate B ill
mented the O r
nance (DIF)
5530
egon Health Plan
The legisla
PiTO/feSSGT
(effective July 1,
ture is to be com
O r e g o n Mckintoy
1993) and funded
mended for pas
H ealth P lan Burt
M edicaid expan
sage o f House B ill
sion to 100 per
2971 w hich re
cent o f Oregonians w ith incomes be quires health insurance coverage for
low the federal poverty level A d di mammography (effective November
tionally , it prescribed the duties o f the 4, 1993). This b ill requires that any
O ffice o f Health Plan Adm inistrator
health insurance policy or contract
Senate B ill 5535, alsoefiective July 2, that cov ers hospital, medical or surgi
form ally established such an office
cal expenses provide reimbursement
Two b ills in particular passed due to for mammography. Excludes poli
s ig n ific a n t e ffo rt on the part o f cies that are lim ited to accident cov
women's groups and women legisla erage. Coverage is provided accord
tors. Senate B ill 905 "W omen’sHealth ing to schedule set forth in Oregon
Health Plan, Chapter 836, Oregon
Laws 1989 This requirement w ill
apply to all policies issued after date
o f the Act, or upon renewal o f the
existing policy or contract.
The passage ofH ouse B ill 3636
should not escape o u r notice fo r it
addresses a nationw ide problem
that is causing significant health
and economic losses to w o rk in g
men and wom en It mandates a
“ N o tice to insured o f group health
insurance cancellation/tennination
o f group health p o lic y (E ffe ctive
N ovem ber 4, 1993).“ High among
the vicious practices bci ng perpetrated
upon the public by many less-than-
ethical corporations is that o f closing
down one company and rigging a
dummy sale to a success or firm
Unsuspecting health policy holders
do not realize that maintenance o f
their precious coverage depends upon
a Tim ely Notice that they wish to
maintain the policy. The company , in
collusion w ith the insurer, bets that
the victim w ill not have read or re
fine print o f the original docum cnt-
which may have been issued years
earlier (better reread yours). The loss
is horrendous as corporate mergers
run rampant.
Oregon’s timely b ill, "Notice to
insured o f group health cancellation’,
requires group health insurer to no
tify insured o f canccllation/termina-
tion o f policy. Notification must be
mailed w ith in ten w orking days after
the date o f policy termination N o tifi
cation must include inform ation as to
rights o f continuation or conversion
provided under state and federal law.
Insurers failure to provide such notice
mandates continued full-force cover
age and waiver o f premiums Insured
right to continuation or conversion
begins on last date the policy holder,
D IF or BO LI receive notice o f term i
nation.
1 believe that this series o f Ob
server articles has prov ided the read
ers w ith a tim ely ‘alert’ as to the state
o f health care in the country. Never
theless I remind vou o f that old adage
Team Kick-O ff To Keep W estside Traffic Moving
A T ri-M e t transportation fa ir
a t P ioneer C o u rth o u se Square
helped introduce T E A M (T ra ffic
Easing and Avoidance M easures)
e ffo rts to help keep tra ffic m oving
d u rin g W estside M A X and h ig h
w ay construction.
Measures range from new bus
routes and planned Park & R ide
lots, to expanded carpool m atching
capabilities and incentives. T ri-M e t
hopes more com m uters use a lte r
native form s o f tran spo rtatio n and
is encouraging m ore employees to
o ffe r discounted tra n s it passes.
T E A M members are helping add
special bypass lanes fo r carpools
and buses at W estside highw ay
ramps and im p ro vin g tra ffic signal
coordination so tra ffic flo w s more
sm oothly. The Bikes on T ri-M e t
program is also expanding to 45
more bus routes this fa ll, and bike
lockers are available at several lo
cations.
T E A M partners include Oregon
Department o fT ransportation, Metro.
Washington and M ultnom ah coun
ties. the cities o f Portland. Beaverton
and Hillsboro, and Tri-M et.
“ We’d like to challenge every
one to help keep the metropolitan
arealivableby making a commitment
to alternative transportation. ” said
Bob Post, Deputy General Manager.
“ Even i f you c a n ’ t c o m m it to
carpooling or rid ing the bus every’
day, try it once or three day s a week.
O r try combi ning errands so you don’t
have to take three trips on a Satur
day.”
Two new express bus routes
began easing traffic on the Sunset
Highway this month:
• South Beaverton Express;
Weekday rush-hourbuses run between
the M urra yhill area and downtown
Portland, w ith non-stop sen ice be
tween the Progress Park & Ride at
Highway 217 & Schools Ferry Road
and downtown Portland. The Park &
Ride opens later this fall, as with
other route names, the “ X " signifies
these buses prov ide faster sen ice by
making few er stops downtown.
• 94X -W alker Road Express
Weekday rush-hour express buses run
Governor Spurns Rights Of
Homeowners By Vetoing “Historic” Bill
“ Governor Roberts showed her
omplete disregard for the fights o f
omeowners by vetoing HB 2124,
, hich allowed homeowners to refuse
onsent to “ historic designation” o f
heir homes.’’ charged B ill Moshofsky.
)regonians In Actions’s Vice Presi-
ent for Government Affairs
“ The Governor’s veto is a major
etback for private property rights,
nd a slap in the face to both the House
nd Senate who ov envhelmingly ap-
rov ed this legislation during the 1993
:gislative session” , he said (The b ill
assed the House unanimously and
assed the Senate 22 to 7.)
Moshofsky explained that this
i ll was needed to prevent local gov-
mments from designating homes and
ther property as “ historic landmarks”
ver the owner's objection~The Land
Conserv ation Development Com m it
tee (LCDC) has been forcing cities
and counties do just that.
H istoric designations impose
costly burdens on landowners w ith
out compensation. Landowners can
be prohibited from remodeling re
placing or removing a dwelling or
other building, and they are forced to
bear the cost o f oppressive regulatory
procedures.
Historic designation is not tradi
tional zoning--it should not be im
posed by compulsion without com
pensation to the owners, Moshofsky
said I f the public wants a private
home to be designated historic’ to
serve public purposes, the public
should bear the consequences o f such
designation.
To do otherwise is to “ press p ri-
‘®ife |3ortli«tir (Wserrier
»*
(USPS 959-G80)
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established In 1970 by Alfred L. Honderson
Joyce Washington
Publisher
vate property into public service w hich
makes a mockery o f constitutional
protection for private property’’—it
forces private owners to bear a ll the
burdensandreceivenobenefits, while
the pubic receives all the benefits and
bears no burdens
The vetoed b ill w ould have
brought Oregon into conformity w ith
the national historic program w hich
is completely voluntary and works
very well. It makes no sense to force
homeow ners into such "presen ration”
program s-for such programs to w ork.
they should be cooperative and
consentual.
Oregonians In Action is a state
wide. n on profit nonpartisan organi
zation seeking land use regulatory
reform and protection for the rights o f
landowners
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T hank Y ou F or R eading
T he P ortland O bserver j
between S.W. 185th & Walker Road
and downtown Portland, via Cedar
H ills Park & Ride at Cedar H ills Blvd.
and the Sunset Highway. The Park &
Ride opens later this fall.
A new Park & Ride w i l l also open
at Cornell & 158th. sened by Line
88-SW 198th Ave. The improv ements
were part o f this fa ll’s 5% service
increase, the largest sen ice increase
in 12 years
Bus and M A X schedules, tickets
and monthly passes are available in
Tn-M et offices at 4012 S E 17,h
Ave.. Pioneer Courthouse Square,
Safeway s and most Albertsons stores,
and other neighborhood outlets.
Celebrate
Diversity
e
V
about “ vigilance being the price o f
‘ whatever’ (health included).” The
follow ing is an overview o f the 1993
Oregon legislative session from my
monthly Associated Oregon Indus
tries Journal.
“ The Medicaid project w ill fund
basic health care for all Oregonians
w ith incomes below the federal pov
erty level. Funding w ill be prov ided
from a m ix o f general fund dollars
and an increase in the state cigarette
tax.
The Health Plan Adm inistrator
w ill be appointed by the Governor,
and w ill have the responsibility o f
merging the existing portions o f the
Oregon Health Plan w hile identify
ing and developing strategies to com
plete the work on the Oregon Health
Plan begun in 1989.
In addition to its work on the
Oregon Health Plan, the Legislature
struggles w ith the issues o f insurance
reform, provider and service man
dates, and changes to the state’ s ap
proach to policy planning and re
s
source allocation Individual service
and provider mandates, once thought
to be replaced by the Oregon Health
Plan benefit package were revisited
and expanded.
Insurance reforms ordered by the
previous legislative assembly were
enacted so late in the last biennium,
that their resulting impact was not
able to be assessed. New reforms such
as changes to m ultiple employer wel
fare arrangements (M E W A ’ s) were
proposed, debated and are scheduled
for enactment.
Resource allocation, planning
and regulation was revisited, result
ing in extension to the state’s C e rtifi
cate o f Need program Collaborative
arrangements between com peting
provider systems were debated, re
sulting in new legislation that w ill
encourage jo in t venture programs
between such providers. A pilot pro
gram was established to merge w ork
ers’ compensation and w orke rs’
health care into a single plan provid
ing 24 hour coverage.”
Oregon Lottery Transfers
Record $43 Million
Oregon L ottery o ffic ia ls an
nounced that $43,399,636.09 is be
ing transferred to the Economic De
velopment Fund That is the amount
earned by the Lottery during the three-
month period ended June 30, the last
quarter o f fiscal year 1993. The trans
fer is the largest ever made in the
Lottery’ s eight-year history.
The record-setting proceeds were
announced at the monthly Lottery
Commission meeting in Bandon on
Wednesday, July 28 Accepting a cer
emonial check on behalf o f the state o f
Oregon were Judy Dcnsomre, Mayor
ofBandon; Loren Wiese, Coos County
Economic Development D irector and
Phil Anderson, dean o f Instruction at
Southwestern Oregon Community
College.
T o d a y’ s transfer b rin g s the
Lottery’s total earnings for fiscal year
1993 to $145.6 m illion, the highest
y early earnings ever. Since ticket sales
began in A p ril 1985, the Lottery has
transferred more than $494 m illio n to
the Economic Development Fund.
Lottery Deputy Director Steve
Caputo reported that the recorded
earnings were generated by recorded
revenue o f more than $431 m illio n
during fiscal year 1993 That figure
was over 60 percent higher than last
year’ s raven, Caputo said.
Since A p ril 1985. more than $885
m illio n in prizes has been awarded to
Oregon Lottery play ers
Over the past eight years more
than $494 m illion hasbeen earned for
Oregon’s economic dev elopment and
job creation in Oregon Fund recipi
ents estimate that more than 38,000
jobs have been saved or created
through these projects.
N a tio n O f Islam
The murder o f a head start em
ployee, the murder o f T ori (Torez)
Carter (a blood “ gang" member), the
tria l o f the young men charged w ith
the beating o f Reginald Denny in Los
Angeles, the controversy over the
verdict o f the death for a black man
(Gary Graham) in Houston, Texas
are results o f effects o f 40-50 m illion
black people in America not having,
or accepting when they hear it, the
knowledge o f themselves and others
When Black people were brought here
in bondage we were robbed o f our
God, religion and culture, stripped
mentally and spiritually. The repair
ing o f our minds and spirits to a level
o f self-respect and decency w ill only
come from leadership made and pre
pared by God I f the civilized man
fails to perform his duty what must be
done? I f the civilized man fails to
perform his duty God must raise up
men and give them guidance for our
(the whole planet) salvation. And this
salv ation starts on and w ith the down
and out Black people o f America The
Bible says that God’ s people w ill be
afflicted for four hundred years among
strangers. There is no other people
that fits this description that the Black
people in America. As God raised up
Moses and Aaron for the children o f
Israel he has raised up the most Hon
ored Elijah Muhammad and the Hon
Louis Farrakahn in our time Div ine
leadership is a must! The only teach
ing, which resulted in a program, that
ever raised thousands o f black people
to a level o f self-respect and decency
was/is the teachings o f the most Hon
ored E lijah Muhammad and the Na
tion o f Islam. America has a blessing
in its midst. The sooner Black people
in A m erica, the governm ent o f
America and others serious study the
Nation o f Islam and its successes
America can become the fostering
ground for the kingdom o f God on
earth But the road to heeding tm th is
so slow that we are losing many lives
from murder, disease, drugs and war.
So hurry and get the books and tapes
o f the m ost H onored E lija h
M uham m ad and the Hon. Louis
Farrakahn and the 18 study guides
We must have a new w orld where
freedom, justice and equality are the
order o f the day. I believe this new
world w ill start in America.
“ The 13th and 14th amend
ments sentenced the old A m e rica to
death and signaled the beginning o f
a new one. L eg ally, the death o f old
A m e rica came w ith the c iv il w ar.
B u t the real death o f old A m e rica
could never come u n til the system
o f b e lie f it was based upon was
destroyed. T hat destruction takes
place only w ith the com ing o f M a s
ter Fard M uham m ad " M a s te r Fard
M uham m ad is the teacher o f M r
E lija h M uham m ad. M o re next a r
ticle, God w illin g .
-YOUR BROTHER ELIJAH X
State Urged To Support Plastics
Recycling, Oppose Burning
Oregon citizens who support re
cycling made a strong statement
against the plastics industry s plan to
burn plastic and avoid recy cling laws.
A t a meeting o f the Environmental
Q uality Commission in Portland,
OSPIRG presented petitions signed
by more than 17.0(H) Oregonians The
petitions urge the Environm ental
Quality Commission to stand firm
and not allow the plastics industry to
redefine Oregon recycling law to in
clude the burning o f plastics. The
signatures were collected in just four
weeks d u rin g the O S P IR G ’ s
PlasticsWatch Campaign
Senate B ill 66, passed in 1991.
requires plastic packaging to be made
w ith recycled plastic or be recy cled at
25 percent by 1995. The American
Plastics Council has been putting
heavy pressure on the state to change
the law to allow an experimental burn
ing process, “ py rolysis.” to qualify as
recycling.
“ The Commission w ill be adopt
ing rules to implement the plastics
law, and the plastics industry w ill
want the Commission to count burn
ing plastics as recy cling, "stated Lauri
Aunan. OSPIRG Environmental Ad
vocate. “ OSPIRG and Oregonians
urged the Commission to stand firm
on Oregon's recycling law.
OSPIRG launched a grassroots
campaign this summer to inform c iti
zens about this plastics industry threat
to recycling. “ The public has been
overwhelm ingly supportive,” said
Maureen K irk , PlasticsWatch Cam
paign Director. “ The public wants to
recy cle plastic, and wants to see used
plastic packaging used to make new
plastic packaging and other plastic
products. Unfortunately, the makers
and sellers o f v irg in packaging, such
as Amoco Chemical Company, have
a vested interest in selling more v ir
gin plastic, and w ill stop at nothing to
thwart Oregon's plastic recycling law.
Fortunately, the public is informed
and active on the issue, and we are
confident the Environmental Quality
Commission w ill do the right thing."