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OPINION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
Smear plan gives
OHA a bad look
Although the plan went nowhere,
Oregonians should be outraged that a
state agency even considered planting
negative news stories about a health-
care nonprofit.
The Portland Tribune broke the
story last week about the Oregon
Health Authority proposal to
promote negative news coverage
and undermine the credibility of
FamilyCare Health, one of the state’s
coordinated care organizations.
The draft communications
plan included looking for an HIV
patient who would complain about
FamilyCare and trying to get a
journalist to write about that patient’s
experience. Journalists often work
off such tips, but it’s beyond callous
for a state agency — the state health
agency! — to consider exploiting a
patient in such a way.
The plan never was implemented.
Lynne Saxton, director of the Oregon
Health Authority, said it was part of an
initial draft that was soon squelched.
“If something bad happens [at
OHA], I take full responsibility for
it, as I am doing here,” she told us on
Monday.
Saxton said she encourages her
staff to be creative. But the fact that
anyone in a state agency would even
suggest planting negative news stories
raises questions about the culture at
the Oregon Health Authority, and
even the leadership of Democratic
Gov. Kate Brown.
“This is outrageous. I’ve never
heard or seen anything like this,” said
state Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem,
whose roots in state government
reach back to the Tom McCall
administration.
“This is not the Oregon way.
Our way is to work collaboratively
and hammer out compromises, not
to throw people under the bus just
because you disagree with them.”
OHA already had raised eyebrows
this year for its aggressive press
releases about its dispute with the
FamilyCare, with which the health
authority has been in litigation and
mediation for two-and-a-half years.
It’s been a tough year for the
state health department. This spring,
Republican legislators criticized
OHA and the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality for attempting
“to push a misleading story line”
regarding health and environmental
concerns at Entek International in
Lebanon. Legislators also were upset
that OHA may have been authorizing
state-paid health care to substantial
numbers of Oregonians who were
ineligible, despite assurances to the
Legislature that everything was under
control.
Against that backdrop, it’s
troubling that the state was slow to
respond to last week’s Tribune article.
Saxton told us that she would
be sending a letter of apology
to Oregon’s coordinated care
organizations, assuring them that
OHA would treat them fairly and
would not tolerate negative public
relations efforts. She also will ask the
state Department of Justice to train her
staff on attorney-client privileges.
Those may be worthwhile steps,
assuming they promote transparency
and openness instead of finding ways
to hide “creative” ideas under the veil
of attorney-client privilege. Still, it
is disconcerting that the Governor’s
office did not immediately respond to
the Tribune’s revelations; and, as of
this writing, still had not done so.
One leading Republican candidate
for governor, Bend Rep. Knute
Buehler, said the OHA negative-
publicity plan — even though it never
was implemented — demonstrates
arrogance and a lack of accountability
by a state agency. The state’s CEO,
Gov. Kate Brown, should recognize
that as well.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher
Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
OTHER VIEWS
EPA a swamp worth draining
L
ike the road to Hell, liberal
damage when it sent 3 million
ideas are usually paved
gallons of tainted wastewater
with good intentions.
into rivers in Colorado, New
But, as Ronald Reagan once
Mexico and Utah.
said, “The trouble with our
We are expected to ignore that
liberal friends is not that they
the Clean Power Plan will, at
are ignorant, but that they know
best, reduce global temperatures
so much that isn’t so.” And
by a negligible one hundredth
all that vast “unknowledge”
of a degree, Celsius, according
Susan
births monster government
Stamper to the Obama administration’s
agencies like the Environmental
former Assistant Secretary of
Brown
Protection Agency.
Energy, Charles McConnell.
Comment
The plan offers little mercy to
Today’s EPA is an agency
millions of Americans burning
gone wild, filled with
wood to stay warm, imposing a ban on
environmental extremists and deep state
the sale and production of 80 percent
holdovers who have little accountability
of America’s wood burning stoves.
for their actions. They arrogantly create
rules like the “Clean Power Plan,” which Forbes.com says, “Most wood stoves
that warm cabins and homes from
the Institute for Energy Research [IER]
coast-to-coast can’t meet that standard.
said was filled with about as much junk
Older stoves that don’t, cannot be traded
as the EPA and its contractors pumped
in for updated types, but instead must
into Colorado’s Animas River in 2015.
EPA’s new administrator, Scott Pruitt, be rendered inoperable, destroyed, or
recycled as scrap metal.”
visited the Animas River site August 4
Or, maybe the EPA could just throw
saying the agency “should be held to
the same standard as those we regulate.” scrapped stoves down the Animas River.
In the aftermath of the toxic spill, and
Pruitt said the Obama administration
with infinitesimal accountability for its
“failed those who counted on them
actions, this agency marches forward in an
to protect the environment.” They
unrelenting mission to control our lives,
also refused to pay claims to many of
one unlegislated regulation at a time.
those they harmed due to “sovereign
A Wyoming man had to sue the
immunity.”
EPA to get it off his back for building
President Trump’s promise to “drain
a stock pond on his property. He was
the swamp” is happening organically
threatened with $37,500 per day fines
with employees resigning over Trump’s
because “material” from his pond flows
withdrawal from the Paris Agreement,
into other waterways. It mattered not
as well as his March 28 executive order
that the “other waterways” is a manmade
mandating review of the Clean Power
irrigation ditch where the water is used
Plan, which effectually triggers the
for agriculture. Nor did it matter that
skyrocketing electricity prices Obama
the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office
promised.
The EPA claimed the plan would
permitted the pond.
“save” thousands of lives, probably as
Certainly, the “material” from his
effectively as Obama’s stimulus plan
pristine pond, fit for fish and waterfowl
“saved” jobs. It was also supposed to
to flourish and cattle to drink, did not turn
improve the climate and our health,
waterways a toxic Animas River orange.
that is, barring more EPA-caused
If Trump wants to prove he really
environmental disasters like the Animas
cares about the environment, he could
River spill.
start with this heavy-handed bureaucracy
Environmentalists have gone bonkers swamp in dire need of draining.
over Trump mandating a review of this
■
costly and burdensome plan, but were
Susan Stamper Brown lives in Alaska
mysteriously silent when the Animas
and writes about culture, politics and
spill caused $400 million in economic
current events.
OTHER VIEWS
What’s next for progressives?
F
or now, at least, the attempt
Meanwhile, the political logic that
to repeal the Affordable Care
led to Obamacare rather than Medicare
Act appears dead. Sabotage by
for all still applies.
a spiteful Trump administration is
It’s not just about paying off the
insurance industry, although getting
still a risk, but there is — gasp! — a
insurers to buy in to health reform
bipartisan push to limit the damage,
wasn’t foolish, and arguably helped
with Democrats who want to preserve
save the ACA: At a crucial moment
recent gains allying with Republicans
America’s Health Insurance Plans,
who fear that the public will blame
Paul
them for declining coverage and rising Krugman the industry lobbying organization,
and Blue Cross Blue Shield
premiums.
Comment
intervened to denounce Republican
This represents a huge victory for
plans.
progressives, who did a startlingly
A far more important consideration is
good job of marshaling facts, mobilizing
minimizing disruption to the 156 million
public opinion, and pressuring politicians to
stand their ground. But where do they go from people who currently get insurance through
here? If Democrats regain control of Congress their employers, and are largely satisfied with
their coverage. Moving to single-payer would
and the White House, what will they do with
mean taking away this coverage and imposing
the opportunity?
new taxes; to make it fly politically you’d
Well, some progressives — by and large
have to convince most of these people both
people who supported Bernie Sanders in
that they would save more in premiums than
the primaries — are already trying to revive
they pay in additional taxes, and that their new
one of his signature proposals: expanding
coverage would be just as good as the old.
Medicare to cover everyone. Some even want
This might in fact be true, but it would be
to make support for single-payer a litmus test
one heck of a hard sell. Is this really where
for Democratic candidates.
progressives want to spend their political
So it’s time for a little pushback. A
capital?
commitment to universal health coverage
What would I do instead? I’d enhance the
— bringing in the people currently falling
ACA, not replace it, although I would strongly
through Obamacare’s cracks — should
support reintroducing some form of public
definitely be a litmus test. But single-payer,
while it has many virtues, isn’t the only way to option — a way for people to buy into public
insurance — that could eventually lead to
get there; it would be much harder politically
single-payer.
than its advocates acknowledge; and there are
Meanwhile, progressives should move
more important priorities.
beyond health care and focus on other holes in
The key point to understand about
universal coverage is that we know a lot about the U.S. safety net.
When you compare the U.S. social
what it takes, because every other wealthy
welfare system with those of other wealthy
country has it. How do they do it? Actually,
countries, what really stands out now is
lots of different ways.
Look at the latest report by the nonpartisan our neglect of children. Other countries
provide new parents with extensive paid
Commonwealth Fund, comparing health
leave, provide high-quality, subsidized day
care performance among advanced nations.
care for children with working parents and
America is at the bottom; the top three
make pre-K available to everyone or almost
performers are Britain, Australia, and the
everyone; we do none of these things.
Netherlands. And the thing is, these three
Our spending on families is a third of the
leaders have very different systems.
advanced-country average, putting us down
Britain has true socialized medicine:
there with Mexico and Turkey.
The government provides health care
So if it were up to me, I’d talk about
directly through the National Health
improving the ACA, not ripping it up and
Service. Australia has a single-payer
starting over, while opening up a new
system, basically Medicare for All — it’s
progressive front on child care.
even called Medicare. But the Dutch have
I have nothing against single-payer; it’s
what we might call Obamacare done right:
what I’d support if we were starting fresh.
individuals are required to buy coverage
But we aren’t: Getting there from here would
from regulated private insurers, with
be very hard, and might not accomplish
subsidies to help them afford the premiums.
much more than a more modest, incremental
And the Dutch system works, which
approach. Even idealists need to set priorities,
suggests that a lot could be accomplished via
and Medicare-for-all shouldn’t be at the top of
incremental improvements in the ACA, rather
the list.
than radical change. Further evidence for
■
this view is how relatively well Obamacare,
Paul Krugman joined The New York Times
imperfect as it is, already works in states that
in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed Page
try to make it work — did you know that
and continues as professor of Economics and
only 5.4 percent of New Yorkers are now
International Affairs at Princeton University.
uninsured?
CULTURE CORNER
It’s a bird, it’s a plane ... it’s Bugs Bunny?
B
Martian Manhunter can’t let
atman’s archenemy is
Marvin the Martian use his
The Joker. The Legion
“Explosive Space Modulator”
of Super-Heroes found
to destroy earth.
their inspiration in Superboy.
And Fudd, forever chasing
Wonder Woman is nigh
that wascally wabbit, trudges
unbeatable.
out of the Looney Tunes’ vivid
DC Comics long ago
animations to gloomy Gotham
established those superhero
to track down the Dark Knight
histories, and this past June the
himself.
entertainment giant stood them
The hunt is on, so be vewy,
on their heads. Not through
vewy quiet.
the typical messy character
The takes on all these
revisions comic shops too often
match-ups are not mere
engage in.
parodies. That would be easy.
Nope. DC teamed up with
Fudd fitting into Gotham’s
Looney Tunes.
You thought Bugs Bunny
underbelly, for example, makes
for something more intriguing.
was the ultimate trickster? Or
Courtesy DC Comics/Looney Tunes
The poet Ezra Pound
Elmer Fudd was just a funny
proclaimed “Make It New,” the
wittle man?
mantra of modernism. “In a world where” each
Think again.
month seems to bring another superhero TV
DC issued six one-shot crossovers between
show or movie, these six comic books embrace
the two universes. Wonder Woman has her
that artistic ideal while seeking to inject a real
work cut out taking on the Tasmanian Devil.
sense of fun into a genre becoming less shiny
Yosemite Sam might regret seeking the help
by the day. — Phil Wright, reporter
of DC’s brooding antihero Jonah Hex. The
LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues
and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper
reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and
products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must
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The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send
letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
or email editor@eastoregonian.com.