May 08,2002
Page A7
Oregon Health Plan
Expansion Supported
( AP) - The Legislature’s interim
budget committee has approved a
proposal that could lead to a size
able expansion o f the Oregon
Health Plan.
T h e p ro p o sa l w as u n a n i
mously endorsed in a phone meet
ing of the Emergency Board and
now goes to the federal govern
ment. That’s because changes in
the plan are subject to approval of
federal Medicaid officials.
Gov. John Kitzhaber and legis
lative leaders have been arguing
over details o f the plan. The
go v ern o r’s office says w hile
Kitzhaber does not agree with all
the details, he’ll seek federal ap-
proval o f the package so the plan
can cover as many as 50-thosuand
more low-income people.
The changes would trim ben
efits and raise copayment charges
to patients to cover more people
without added cost to the state.
Up to 25-thousand more working
people could qualify for govern
ment subsidies to buy private
health insurance offered by em
ployers. And the income limit for
health plan coverage would rise
from 100 percent to 1 lOpercentof
the federal poverty level.
The current poverty level in
come for a family of three is $ 15,000
a year.
Sickle Cell Disease
Confronted by Board
Area residents can get more
information, testing and counsel
ing about sickle cell disease by
calling the Sickle Cell Board at
503-249-1366.
Sickle cell disease is a term used
to characterize a group of inher
ited blood disorders for which
hemoglobin S is the dominant
hemoglobin, afflicting pain and
frequent hospitalizations to its
victims.
Sickle cell is found throughout
the world and affects primarily
Afro-Americans, but frequents
A fric a n /H isp a n ic -C a rib b e a n ,
South American and Greek popu
lations.
This silent predator can cause
pain as early as 4-6 months of age,
but can be treated if diagnosed
early. Symptoms are jaundiced
eyes, sudden onset of pain in part
of the body, painful swelling of
the hands or feet, fever, difficulty
berating, low hemoglobin and
hematicrits, pallor and unwanted
erection in males.
Linda Hoof o f Annie M ae’s Unique Gifts and Collectibles is a local
entrepreneur on a mission during Thursday's Oregon Association o f
Minority Entrepreneurs tradeshow a t the Oregon Convention Center. A
business incubator workshop and contractors' meeting was also held in
conjunction with the event.
(Entrepreneur
en a cECission
4
Insurance Premium Costs Soar
(A P) — H ealth care subscribers in O r
egon and southw est W ashington are hav
ing more trouble paying their prem ium s as
insurers hike up costs to stabilize their busi
ness.
M ost health insurers last year increased
prem ium s more steeply than the increase in
payouts for m edical care. On a per-m em ber
basis, the average m onthly prem ium went
up 12 percent, com pared w ith an 8 percent
increase in m edical spending, according to
a new analysis.
Benefit consultants and industry ana
lysts say em ployers and health plans are
looking for ways to shift m ore health costs
to w orkers, hoping they will curtail their use
o f services because o f the increase.
“January 2003 is going to bring the
m other-of-all-cost-shifting to em ployees,”
predicts lan M orrison, a health care indus
try consultant in M enlo Park, Calif.
Nationwide, 40 percent of large companies,
those with 500 or more workers, said they will
require employees to pay a higher percentage
o f costs this year, according to the latest
survey by Mercer, the benefits consulting
firm, which gathered responses last year from
2,800 large and small employers.
M ore than a third o f large com panies said
they w ill raise w orkers’ out-of-pocket ex
penses, such as co-paym ents for doctor
visits and hospital care.
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(1 he j . l n r t l a u i ' i ( O h s e r iie r
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Owner/Managei
call 503.288.0033
< 2631 N.E. Alberta Street
4 Portland, Oregon 97211
o r em ail:
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E-Mail: lchoof@qwesl.nel
Business: 503.528.2933
Cell: 503 309.4637
Fax: 503 493.1483
Im a gine this: You're p ro u d o f the
children you raised. Your grandkids
are talented and beautiful, too. The
reality of retirement has finally arrived
and it's even better than the fantasy
should receive compensation as a consequence
of the slave labor trade. The first suit, in which
a woman filed a $ 1.4 trillion claim against Aetna,
Fleet Boston, and CSX Railroad, among oth
ers, says the firms profited from their ties to
slave labor, including through claims on life
insurance policies for slaves in their employ.
Barber, a resident of Somerset, asserts that
there is no time limit on justice for crimes
against humanity. His lawyers say their client
and up to 37 million others whose ancestors
were slaves lag behind whites as a result of the
earlier era of discrimination.
Blacks “lag behind whites according to
every social yardstick: literacy, life expect
ancy, income and education,” the lawsuit said.
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4 L in d a R H o o f
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Second Slave Reparations Lawsuit Filed
(AP) — An insurance company, a railroad
and a bank are the latest defendants named in
a lawsuit that seeks slave reparations.
A New Jersey man has filed suit against the
three companies asserting that they benefited
from slave labor.
Richard E. Barber, Jr., a graduate of North
Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University, said his ancestors lived in Tren
ton, N.J., where Norfolk Southern Railroad,
New York Life Insurance and private bank
Brown Brothers Harriman and Company in
New York all profited from their unpaid ser
vice.
His is the second suit in as many months
arguing that descendants o f African slaves
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