The Oregon House of Representatives approved two bills on Tuesday that mark a dramatic shift in the government’s attitudes toward drugs and addictions, decriminalizing possession of small amounts of six hard drugs and lowering the penalty in some cases from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, is threatening a ballot referendum to overturn the new funding mechanism for the Oregon Health Plan, saying she doesn’t support taxes on health insurance, although she did support an insurance tax just four years ago.
The Senate passed the Cover All Kids Act on a 21-8 vote Monday, with four Republicans joining all the Democrats to ensure that all children living in Oregon will have access to health insurance, regardless of where they were born.
The Oregon House passed the reproductive health bill, 33-23, sending to the Senate a controversial but hard-fought bill for women’s healthcare access that would close gaps in coverage to contraceptives and abortion
The director of the Department of Environmental Quality told lawmakers on Friday that the Cleaner Air Oregon program will continue, despite the defeat of House Bill 2269, which would have levied a fee on polluters to help fund the analysis of their impact on public health.
The director of the Department of Environmental Quality told lawmakers on Friday that the Cleaner Air Oregon program will continue, despite the defeat of House Bill 2269, which would have levied a fee on polluters to help fund the analysis of their impact on public health.
House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, has spiked legislation backed by FamilyCare to force the Oregon Health Authority to be more transparent with its rate-setting process, dealing a blow to the continued operation of the state’s second-largest Medicaid operator.
The Committee on Ways & Means has cleared the women’s comprehensive health bill on a party-line vote, setting up an emotional floor debate at the end of the session.
A top Oregon state health insurance official told reporters on Wednesday that he anticipates Trumpcare would send the individual market into a death spiral if enacted, sending younger and healthier people fleeing and only the most desperate and sickest consumers left buying health insurance.
The Department of Human Services budget for the next two years is poised to rise 5.8 percent over the last budget, increasing to $11.2 billion in total funds to pay for services for seniors citizens, foster children and people with disabilities.
