Page 8 The Skanner January 24, 2018
News
Oregon Approves New Taxes to Address Medicaid Costs
Measure touted by unlikely coalition of providers, hospital associations and health care unions
PORTLAND, Ore. — Or-
egon approved taxes on
hospitals, health insur-
ers and managed care
companies in an unusual
special election Tuesday
that asked voters — and
not lawmakers — how to
pay for Medicaid costs
that now include cov-
erage of hundreds of
thousands of low-income
residents added to the
program’s rolls under
the Affordable Care Act.
Measure 101 was pass-
ing handily in early re-
turns Tuesday night.
The single-issue election
drew national attention
to this progressive state,
which aggressively ex-
panded its Medicaid rolls
under President Barack
Obama’s health care re-
forms. Oregon now has
one of the lowest rates of
uninsured residents in
the nation at 5 percent.
About 1 million Orego-
nians — 25 percent —
now receive health care
coverage from Medicaid.
Maine voters recently
went to polls to approve
the expansion of their
Medicaid program, but
experts said Oregon was
the first state to take the
issue of funding that ex-
pansion directly to vot-
ers.
The taxes are a short-
term fix for health care
funding that will gener-
ate between $210 million
and $320 million in reve-
nue over two years.
“Tonight’s vote is an
AP PHOTO/GILLIAN FLACCUS, FILE
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
In this Jan. 19, 2018, file photo. a sign in support of Oregon’s Measure
101 is displayed by a homeowner along a roadside in Lake Oswego,
Ore. The taxes before voters in the special election on Tuesday, Jan.
23, 2018, are a short-term fix for health care funding designed to
generate between $210 and $320 million in revenue over two years.
Oregon aggressively expanded its Medicaid rolls under the Affordable
Care Act and now, just 5 percent of its population is uninsured. But
lawmakers have struggled to come up with a long-term funding plan.
affirmation of our belief
that Oregon is better off
with a robust Medicaid
program for our most
vulnerable
citizens,”
Andy Davidson, presi-
dent and CEO of the Ore-
gon Association of Hospi-
“
cent tax on the gross
health insurance pre-
miums and on managed
care organizations. The
nonpartisan voter pam-
phlet said if the measure
failed, the state might
lose an additional $630
Tonight’s vote is an affirma-
tion of our belief that Ore-
gon is better off with a ro-
bust Medicaid program for
our most vulnerable citizens
tals and Health Systems,
said in a statement. “We
are proud to have been
a partner in fighting for
these patients and their
families.”
The measure creates a
0.7 percent tax on some
hospitals and a 1.5 per-
million to $960 million in
federal Medicaid match-
ing funds that flow to the
poorest in the state.
That possibility was
enough to galvanize
health care providers,
doctors and nurses as-
sociations and insurers
behind Measure 101.
Hospitals said the costs
of treating uninsured
patients in emergency
rooms would be more
than the taxes imposed.
Proponents also ar-
gued that more than
350,000 Oregonians who
secured health care cov-
erage under the expan-
sion would lose it if Mea-
sure 101 failed.
The ballot measure
arose from a grassroots
campaign to put parts of
a bipartisan legislative
funding solution passed
last year before voters.
Republican Rep. Julie
Parrish and several col-
leagues were angered
by portions of the bill
that exempt unions
and large, self-insured
corporations like Nike
from Medicaid taxes
but not Oregonians
who buy insurance on
health care exchanges.
They also believed
hospitals and insurers
will pass the cost to
consumers, despite lan-
guage that limits pre-
mium rate increases to
1.5 percent.
Medicaid is a feder-
al-state collaboration
originally meant for
poor families and se-
verely disabled peo-
ple. Over the years, it’s
grown to become the
largest
government
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 people making
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PORTLAND:
1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 | 503.261.1862
HEADQUARTERS:
25120 Pacific Hwy S, #200, Kent, WA 98032 | 253.954.8800
More than 20,000 members in the Pacific Northwest.
138 percent of the federal
poverty line to qualify for
Medicaid under the Af-
fordable Care Act. That’s
$34,600 for a family of
four. Before, they had to
make less to qualify.
The changes brought
a slew of new enrollees,
not just in Oregon but
in all states that allowed
an expansion of the pro-
gram. For the first two
years, the federal gov-
ernment covered the full
cost for those new enroll-
ees.
In 2017, the match
dropped to 95 percent,
adding $136 million in
costs in Oregon. It will
drop to 90 percent in
2020.
At the same time, the
federal
government
asked Oregon to pay
more for its other Medic-
aid recipients because of
its strong economy.
State lawmakers also
voted to provide Medic-
aid coverage for children
living in the country ille-
gally starting Jan. 1, add-
ing another $27 million
in costs.
Oscars cont’d from pg 7
on the 405
Heroin(e)
Knife Skills
Traffic Stop
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
FILM
A Fantastic Woman,
Chile
The Insult, Lebanon
Loveless, Russia
On Body and Soul, Hun-
gary
The Square, Sweden
WRITING (ADAPTED
SCREENPLAY)
Call Me by Your Name
The Disaster Artist
Logan
Molly’s Game
Mudbound
WRITING (ORIGINAL
SCREENPLAY)
The Big Sick
Get Out
Ladybird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri
ORIGINAL SONG
“Mighty River,” Mud-
bound
“Mystery of Love,” Call
Me by Your Name
“Remember Me,” Coco
“Stand Up for Some-
thing,” Marshall
“This is Me,” The Great-
est Showman
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
The Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water
COSTUME DESIGN
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Victoria & Abdul
SOUND EDITING
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
SOUND MIXING
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
MUSIC (ORIGINAL
SCORE)
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri
SHORT FILM
(ANIMATED)
Dear Basketball
Garden Party
Negative Space
Lou
Revolting Rhymes
SHORT FILM (LIVE
ACTION)
Dekalb Elementary
The Eleven O’Clock
The Silent Child
All of Us
My Nephew Emmet
VISUAL EFFECTS
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the
Apes
FILM EDITING
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri
MAKEUP AND
HAIRSTYLING
Darkest Hour
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder