6A • January 5, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Boundary challenge dropped due to insufficient funds
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
John Dunzer’s challenge to
the state Land Use Board of
Appeals was dropped due to
failure to pay a filing fee.
A possible legal challenge
to Seaside’s urban growth
boundary expansion reached
a dead-end when Seaside’s
John Dunzer failed to pay a
filing fee to take his case to
the land use board of appeals.
This fall, Seaside School
District brought a request to
bring 40 acres of city resi-
dential land and 49 acres of
county forestland into the
city’s urban growth bound-
ary to be zoned as industrial
commercial. The expansion is
Dunzer said in his appeal that county
approval of the school district’s
plan violates state planning rules
requiring local government to look
at all options within the existing
boundaries before expansion of
those boundaries.
considered essential to build-
ing of the new school campus,
which will relocate the high
school, middle school and
Gearhart Elementary School
in new facilities outside of the
Cascadia Subduction Zone.
The Seaside Planning
Commission endorsed the
plan and sent it to the city,
which updated its zone code
and comprehensive plan to re-
flect the expansion. The coun-
ty followed suit on Nov. 8,
Voter primer on Ballot Measure 101
By Claire Withycombe
Capital Bureau
CAPITAL BUREAU
An issue on the January ballot could impact how Oregon
finances its share of the Medicaid bill.
ordinated care organizations
— regional networks of OHP
providers.
• What does a “no” vote
mean? A “no” vote means
you wish to repeal the non-
refundable .7 percent assess-
ment, and the assessments on
insurers, the Public Employ-
ees Benefits Board and coor-
dinated care organizations.
• How does this ballot
measure affect people on the
Oregon Health Plan? Hun-
dreds of thousands of Orego-
nians gained Medicaid cover-
age under the Affordable Care
Act, which allowed states to
provide coverage to people
making up to 138 percent of
the federal poverty level. As
of November 2016, about
366,000 people were eligible
for OHP under the Affordable
Care Act.
Previously only those
making up to 100 percent of
the federal poverty level were
considered eligible. But that
group, earning between 100
percent and 138 percent of
the federal poverty level, isn’t
legally required by the federal
government to be covered by
states.
Supporters of Measure 101
say that if it fails, the Legisla-
ture could decide to cut those
people from the health plan to
save the money that the state
government won’t be able to
collect.
• If the measure fails,
would lawmakers have to
cut the health plan budget?
No, but proponents note that
faced with funding gaps in
the past, lawmakers have
knocked people off the Ore-
gon Health Plan. “If you are
a Medicaid recipient, this is
about whether you have ac-
cess to your health care,” said
Jessica Adamson, a lobby-
ist for Providence Health &
Services, which is backing
Measure 101. “This is about
whether or not the funding is
there to fully fund this pro-
gram. Anything else besides
Measure 101 is a gamble.
There is no Plan B.”
Opponents counter that
state legislators can find that
money elsewhere in the bud-
get to cover those people.
“This ballot measure isn’t
about whether Medicaid is
good or bad,” said Parrish, the
lawmaker urging a “no” vote.
“It’s about whether we picked
the right funding mechanism
to pay for it.”
• I buy my own insur-
ance. Does this affect how
much I pay? Yes. Under the
law, insurers will be assessed
a 1.5 percent of gross premi-
ums earned.
Premiums on the individ-
ual market could increase by
1.5 percent because the leg-
islation allows insurers to in-
crease premiums by up to that
amount to offset the tax that
they’ll be paying, opponents
say.
• So if the tax fails, my
rates won’t go up? Not nec-
essarily. Supporters of Mea-
sure 101 say that expanded
Medicaid coverage reduces
demands on costly emergen-
cy care. It also funds a pro-
gram called reinsurance that
is designed to hold down rate
increases in premiums for
people who buy their own in-
surance.
It essentially acts as insur-
ance for insurers, providing a
pool of money to reimburse
insurers part of the cost of
very expensive procedures. In
2018, the program is holding
rates in Oregon’s individu-
al health insurance market,
on average, 6 percent lower
than they would be without
reinsurance, according to the
Department of Consumer
and Business Services. That’s
about $300 less per year, ac-
cording to the “Yes on 101”
campaign.
• I get insurance through
my employer. Does this af-
fect how much I’ll pay? If
you work for a business with
50 employees or fewer, nei-
ther outcome of the measure
likely will affect your rates
in 2018, but likely would in
2019.
Since 2018 rates have al-
ready been approved by the
powered by
music fi rst
requiring local government to
look at all options within the
existing boundaries before ex-
pansion of those boundaries.
Dunzer claimed that the
existing Seaside Heights El-
ementary School site could
be used as the site of a new
middle school, resulting in a
“more tolerable impact on the
entire east side of Seaside.”
His case never made it for
consideration by the state,
which requires a filing fee.
Dunzer asked for a waiv-
er of the fee, which was not
granted, the state board said
Wednesday.
Four laws that made
an impact in 2017
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
Many of the hundreds of
laws Oregon legislators pass
each year may go largely un-
noticed by the public.
Several laws, however,
left a palpable mark on the
lives of Oregonians in 2017.
The Pamplin/EO Capital Bu-
reau has highlighted four re-
cent laws that made an impact
in the past year.
Distracted-driving
Oregon’s new distract-
ed-driving law closed loop-
holes in a preexisting ban on
holding a cellphone while
driving and enhanced penal-
ties for violations. House Bill
2597 expanded the ban to in-
clude holding any mobile elec-
tronic device while driving,
even while waiting at a stop-
light. Drivers face a fine of up
to $1,000 for their first offense.
Nearly 3,500 people were
killed and about 391,000 in-
jured in motor vehicle crashes
involving distracted drivers
in the United States In 2015,
according to the most recent
statistics from the National
Highway Traffic Safety Ad-
ministration.
“We all share the roads,
and we have an obligation to
keep each other safe,” Parrish
said.
Pumping gas
Oregon is one of only two
states in the nation where
residents are prohibited from
pumping their own gas. While
this may seem to be a luxury
for some urban dwellers, it
has been a source of conster-
nation for motorists and gas
station owners in rural parts
of Eastern Oregon.
In Heppner, for instance,
there is only one gas station
in town, and it isn’t open 24
hours a day.
Earlier this year, lawmak-
ers expanded the timeframe
for self-fueling to 24 hours in
15 Eastern Oregon counties,
EO MEDIA GROUP FILE
Stricter distracted driving
laws was among hundreds
of new laws passed in 2017.
with populations of less than
40,000. The expansion of the
law was primarily designed to
keep solo gas stations such as
Heppner’s in operation. Some
stations were in jeopardy of
going out of business because
owners couldn’t afford to hire
enough pumping attendants,
said Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-On-
tario, the bill’s sponsor.
Minimum wage
The state’s landmark law
to increase in the minimum
wage for seven consecutive
years was enacted in 2016,
but the greatest jump in wag-
es happened in 2017.
Minimum hourly pay
in the Portland metro area
climbed from $9.75 to $11.25
in July of this year, after a
50-cent increase last year.
The minimums were lower
in other parts of the state, an
acknowledgement from law-
makers of the variety econom-
ic realities and cost of living in
different parts of the state.
Full-day
kindergarten
Full-day kindergarten be-
gan in Oregon in 2015, thanks
to funding approved by the
Legislature, but the law con-
tinues have to ripple effects,
both for children’s long-term
education and families’ short-
term financial outcomes.
For instance, students
in full-day kindergarten are
more likely to read proficient-
ly in the third grade, a critical
benchmark for reaching on-
time graduation.
LETTERS
Letters from Page 4A
When I first took him out
for a walk, we stopped in the
play area where we take the
leashes off the dogs and let
them chase tennis balls and
run free. There is a nearly
6-foot tall fence around it to
keep the dogs from getting
out. I took Bodie’s leash off
and went to grab a blue ten-
nis ball chucker.
I turned around and saw
Bodie sitting at the foot of
the fence facing up at the top
corner. Before I could take
another step, he jumped to
the top of that fence with his
front feet hooking over it,
kicked and pulled his hind
legs over it, landed on the
Expires 1/19/18
On Jan. 23 Oregon voters
will have a chance to weigh in
on Measure 101, helping de-
cide how the state pays for its
Medicaid program.
President Trump noted
earlier this year that “nobody
knew that health care could
be so complicated” and this
measure, which deals with in-
surance premiums, managed
care organizations and feder-
ally regulated hospital taxes,
is not an easy read. Here are
the basics:
• When do I need to un-
derstand this? Ballots will be
mailed to voters between Jan.
3 and Jan. 9, according to the
Secretary of State’s Office.
Ballots must be received by
elections officials by 8 p.m.
Jan. 23.
• Why is this on the bal-
lot? This summer, Democrats
in the Oregon Legislature
pushed through a bill provid-
ing temporary funding for
the state’s Medicaid system.
Three Republican lawmakers
— State Reps. Julie Parrish,
of West Linn; Cedric Hayden,
of Roseburg; and Sal Es-
quivel, of Medford, decided
they wanted to refer parts of
the law to voters. They led a
petition campaign to gather
signatures and are now urg-
ing voters to vote “No” on the
measure, which would repeal
those parts of the state’s Med-
icaid law.
• Remind me. What’s
Medicaid? Medicaid is a
government healthcare cov-
erage program for the poor
and other qualifying groups.
Oregonians earning up to 138
percent of the federal poverty
level ($16,100 for an individ-
ual; $32,900 for a family of
four) are eligible for the pro-
gram. In Oregon, the Medic-
aid program is known as the
Oregon Health Plan and cov-
ers about 1 million people,
including 400,000 kids.
• How is the Oregon
Health Plan financed? Both
the state and the federal gov-
ernment pay for it with public
funds, but the federal gov-
ernment picks up most of the
tab. Plus, hospitals, insurers
and coordinated care organi-
zations all pay taxes — de-
scribed in the measure as
“assessments” — to the state.
Oregon uses that money to get
matching funding from the
federal government.
• How much do hospitals
pay? Hospitals pay a 5.3 per-
cent assessment on net reve-
nues, which, once matched by
the feds, is returned to them
as a group and redistributed.
Under the state law passed
earlier this year, they also pay
a .7 percent assessment on net
revenues that is not returned
to them, but put into a state
fund for healthcare.
• What does a “yes” vote
mean? A “yes” vote means
you want the state to impose
and keep the nonrefundable .7
percent assessment on hospi-
tals, as well as assessments on
insurers, the Public Employ-
ees Benefits Board and co-
Oregon Department of Con-
sumer and Business Services,
the Legislature would have to
take action to change those
rates.
Insurers in the small group
market would pay the 1.5 per-
cent tax on gross premiums
earned.
• What about big employ-
ers? For Oregonians who are
covered through an employer
with more than 50 employees,
insurance costs will likely not
immediately change due to ei-
ther outcome of the measure,
either. The state doesn’t regu-
late rates for large employers.
Some large employers go
out and buy plans from insur-
ers. The state doesn’t regulate
rates for those types of plans,
but it does regulate benefits,
the way policy contracts are
written and the financial sol-
vency of companies offering
plans. Those insurers who
provide plans in the large
group market will pay the 1.5
percent assessment as well if
Measure 101 passes.
• My company is self-in-
sured. What can I expect?
Some companies — usually
bigger ones — self-insure
and get plans through what’s
called a third party adminis-
trator. About 790,000 Orego-
nians are enrolled in a plan
through a self-insured em-
ployer, according to the Ore-
gon Department of Consumer
and Business Services.
The state doesn’t regulate
any part of those plans due to
federal law. Self-insured em-
ployers are exempt from pay-
ing the state tax on the premi-
ums specified on the ballot.
• How much does all of
this cost? Oregon’s Medic-
aid program costs $9.3 billion
in state and federal funds per
year, according to the Oregon
Secretary of State’s office.
If the measure is over-
turned, legislators would face
an $840 million to $1.3 billion
hole in the Medicaid budget, a
figure that includes both state
and federal matching funds.
How does this election af-
fect people on Medicare?
Measure 101 will not have
an effect on Medicare cover-
age. Medicare, the healthcare
coverage program for people
age 65 and older, is funded
solely by the federal govern-
ment and would not be affect-
ed by changes in state policy.
• What about Tricare?
Tricare, the health insurance
program for military mem-
bers, will not be affected by
the insurance tax.
• Will the outcome of the
vote settle this issue? No.
If Ballot Measure 101 fails
in January, legislators will
have to re-balance the bud-
get during the February spe-
cial session. But even if the
measure passes, the funding
provisions expire, meaning
lawmakers would be debating
this again in 2019.
adopting an ordinance amend-
ing the county’s comprehen-
sive plan expanding Seaside’s
urban growth boundary to ac-
commodate the new campus.
Money saved from an al-
ternate plan could be used to
provide upgrades to the city’s
bridges, Dunzer said in an
appeal he mailed to the state
earlier this month. A longtime
critic of the plan to relocate
Seaside’s endangered schools
out of the tsunami inunda-
tion zone, Dunzer said in his
appeal that county approval
of the school district’s plan
violates state planning rules
ground and started sprinting
towards the street. He ran to
the first car he could find,
and stopped to get attention
from the people inside while
we came to round him up.
That dog wanted to be free.
There are a lot of great
dogs at the Clatsop County
Animal Shelter who would
love a good home, attention,
kids to play with, and a yard
or sidewalk to become their
new exercise location.
What a good Christmas
it would be for one of these
dogs to have a family. Come
to the Clatsop County Ani-
mal Shelter and adopt a pet
today.
Chad Johnson
Gearhart