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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018
Warning: Don’t be fooled by fake patient groups
AARP Oregon and OSPIRG,
the leading senior and con-
sumer advocacy groups in
Oregon, are warning voters to
watch out for telemarketing
scams designed to trick voters
into supporting policies that
could hurt them.
The Voter Alert comes a
week after a Eugene Register-
Guard investigation into the
shady practices of a group
called “Caregiver Voices
United,” which revealed that
the group funded by drug man-
ufacturers pretended to be a
patient advocacy group and
called Oregonians to convince
them to join an effort to stop
the prescription drug price
transparency bill, HB 4005.
One of the independent con-
tractors hired by Caregiver
Voices United blew the whistle
after looking up the bill and
realizing that it was one he and
other people would support.
Calling it a “subversive cam-
paign,” the Eugene Register-
Guard published the docu-
ments from the whistleblower.
The documents showed:
1. Caregiver Voices United
— the front group — is actual-
ly funded by the pharmaceuti-
cal
industry,
including
Allergen, Genentech and
GlaxoSmithKline.
2. The script Caregiver
Voices United gave its telemar-
keters is riddled with false
information about HB 4005.
3. Telemarketers are paid on
a bounty system, earning more
money for each voter they con-
vince to send a letter and par-
ticipate in the campaign.
Oregon seniors have great
concern over prescription drug
prices and are likely to be tar-
geted in scams like this says
Jon Bartholomew, Government
Relations Director of AARP
Oregon.
“It’s shameful that prescrip-
tion drug companies would
spend their money trying to
trick seniors into opposing a
bill that would finally shine the
light on why drug prices keep
going up year after year,” says
Bartholomew. “We are alerting
our members: if you get a call
from Caregiver Voices United,
don’t be fooled. This is not a
real patient advocacy organiza-
tion.”
Jesse
O’Brien,
Policy
Director at OSPIRG, said “It’s
clear from the Register-Guard
investigation that the powerful
pharmaceutical industry will
do whatever it takes to keep us
from knowing the truth behind
their skyrocketing prices.”
HB 4005 would require drug
companies to report to the state
the justification for any price
increase 10 percent or higher.
The report must include the
company profits from the bill,
the cost for research and devel-
opment, the cost to market the
drug, whether there are generic
alternatives available and what
the drug costs in other coun-
tries.
AARP Oregon and OSPIRG
have joined with nurses, doc-
tors, health plans, labor and
other advocacy groups in sup-
port of drug price transparency.
They see the actions by the
pharmaceutical industry as a
way to trick voters into oppos-
ing something that would help
bring prescription prices down.
They urge voters to be alert
for the calls.
Top three things to do if you
get a call:
1. Ask to speak to a manag-
er. A true patient advocacy
group will have one you can
speak to. Groups like Caregiver
Voices United pay individual
contractors who work alone,
usually from home.
2. Ask how the group is
funded. A true patient advocacy
group will be able to provide
you with an answer.
3. Do not give the telemar-
keter your personal informa-
tion or agree to have a letter
sent to your representative on
your behalf.
AARP is the nation’s largest
nonprofit, nonpartisan organi-
zation dedicated to empower-
ing Americans 50 and older to
choose how they live as they
age. To learn more, visit www.
aarp.org.
Port of Siuslaw seeks
budget committee members
The Port of Siuslaw Board
of Commissioners invites
applications from residents
interested in serving on the
port’s Budget Committee.
Interested persons should
obtain an application from the
port office at 100 Harbor St. or
from the port’s website,
www.portofsiuslaw.com.
Applications will be accept-
ed until 5 p.m. Friday, March
30.
Applicants must be regis-
tered voters residing within the
Port of Siuslaw district. The
district boundary encompasses
most of the Siuslaw River
watershed, including the com-
munities of Florence and
Dunes City, and extending
upriver to Mapleton, Walton,
Lorane and Blachly.
The Budget Committee is a
standing committee of five
members that sits jointly with
the Port Commission to pub-
licly review and revise the
annual budget. The Budget
Committee approves the budg-
et and tax levy. The budget
then goes to the Port
Commission to be adopted.
Committee members serve
three-year terms which expire
on June 30.
Each committee member is
expected to work up to 20
hours; that includes reviewing
the budget and meeting one to
three times from May through
June each year.
The Committee may be
called to meet again during the
year in the event of a signifi-
cant budgetary change.
Questions should be direct-
ed to the port office at 541-
997-3426.
City of Florence answers questions about Harbor Vista
Recently, the City of
Florence has been receiving
inquiries as to why Lane
County's
Harbor
Vista
Campground, 87658 Harbor
Vista Rd., is closed. Lane
County Parks has closed the
popular campground due to the
imminent start of a major
sewer improvement project.
The campground will remain
closed through May 23, 2018.
The
Harbor
Vista
Campground Sewer Collection
System Project was recently
awarded by the City of
Florence to Ray Wells, Inc.
This $638,526 project will pro-
vide municipal sewer service to
Lane County's Harbor Vista
Campground and to properties
along South Harbor Vista
Drive. Specifically, the project
will install 2,450 lineal feet of
8-inch PVC sewer mainline;
1,300 LF of 4-inch pressure
sewer main; 16 manholes; 40
sanitary sewer services; and a
sewer pump station. This coop-
erative project between Lane
County and the City of
Florence will be managed by
the City.
The contractor, Ray Wells,
Inc., has begun to stage equip-
ment and material at the camp-
ground. The contractor will be
starting to excavate for the
sewer pump station on
Monday, Feb. 19.
Due to the size of the con-
struction project, depth of the
structures manholes and pump
station (wet well), and the
necessity to open trench the
sewer main lines, Lane County
Parks decided, in the best inter-
ests and safety of campers, vis-
itors and area residents, to
close the park during construc-
tion.
The campground will remain
closed for the duration of the
project with the goal to reopen
the campground for the 2018
Memorial Day weekend.
Once completed, the sewer
project will allow Harbor Vista
Campground to offer its guests
full service (water, sewer and
electric) campsites.
Although the city has
planned the construction well
and has worked hard to mini-
mize any inconvenience, due to
the nature of this construction
project there will be slight
inconveniences, particularly to
the residents along South
Harbor Vista Drive.
The city and the contractor
will expedite the construction
through the area so that disrup-
tion to residents and visitors
alike will be limited. Florence
sincerely apologizes for any
inconvenience it or the contrac-
tor might cause during this
project and will work hard to
minimize any of those incon-
veniences.
U.S. Air Force
Band of the Golden West
s
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Com
The
JAZZ ENSEMBLE
FREE CONCERT!
Monday, March 19th • 7:00 p.m.
Florence Public Works
would like to extend its thanks
to the public in advance for
their patience as the city begins
this important project that will
bring improved sanitary sewer
service to the community.
Residents are encouraged to
call the City of Florence Public
Works office with any concerns
and questions at 541-997-4106.
Campground visitors are
encouraged to contact Lane
County Parks for updates and
inquiries to campsite locations
that will be offering full service
connections at 541-682-2000.
Visit the Siuslaw News online at
WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
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at the Florence Events Center
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SIUSLAW NEWS 148 Maple St.
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FLORENCE EVENTS CENTER 715 Quince
Call today to RSVP — space is limited.
For more information, call 541-997-3441
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Siuslaw News
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