Exciting News Out of Salem!

HB 3260 was voted out of the House Committee on Health Care unanimously on Friday. The bill calls for a comparative study of health care financial models, including ours.

 
The April 5 hearing on this bill received testimony from co-sponsors Dembrow and Williamson, expert testimony, and 25 letters of support from legislators, organizations, businesses, and individuals. A number of HCAO observers later visited their representatives.
 
Amendments to the bill included deleting the word public from the potential funding sources. 
 
Tracking the two House Bills introduced by Representatives Michael Dembrow (D), District 45, and Jennifer Williamson (D), District 36, has kept the HCAO Legislative/Policy Committee very busy. (See http://hcao.org/health-care-legislation/ for details of both bills.)
 
The other, HB 2922, The Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan, offers a publicly funded plan to cover everyone living or working in Oregon. It would give everyone the opportunity to have their health care needs cared for by a certified medical provider of their choice. The results of HB 3260 will let us know how much money will need to be raised through progressive taxation to fund the plan, and how much it will save us.
 
The hearing for HB 2922 will be May 13 (Monday) at 1 p.m., probably in Hearing Room E. We are recruiting experts to testify, and we hope for a good turnout of red-shirted supporters. Here is the schedule:
 
9:30 a.m.: Training for lobbying, Room 50
10-12 a.m.: Lobby legislators
12-1 p.m.: Lunch (on your own)
1-3 p.m.: Hearing on HB 2922, House Committee on Health Care, Room E
3-3:30 p.m.: Debrief, Room 50
 
--Lou Sinniger, chair HCAO Legislative Committee