Oregon spends billions on healthcare yet “most of what impacts people’s health doesn’t happen in a doctor’s office but elsewhere in the community,” Rep. Mitch Greenlick said at a legislative briefing on public health modernization.
Public health aims to protect people from communicable disease, prepare for and respond to emergencies, limit environmental risks and ensure equitable access to health care -- what Greenlick described as “silent work” to keep Oregonians safe and healthy.
But Oregon invests just $26.60 per capita on public health, far less than Washington’s $38.20, California’s $56.20 and Idaho’s $94.70 – even well below the $33.50 national average.
Greenlick, along with Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, hosted a briefing on a plan to ask the next legislative session for $30 million in the 2017-2019 biennium to modernize the state’s public health system.
Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer asked why public health seeks just $15 million a year when a statewide assessment shows a $105 million annual funding gap between where public health departments are now compared to where they need to be to meet newly defined foundational capabilities and programs.
“We’re looking at this as phased work,” said Lynne Saxton, director of the Oregon Health Authority, who wants work plans ready before asking for more funds.
Zeke Smith, chair of the Oregon Health Policy Board, described the $30 million initial legislative ask as “really reflective of a realistic scale up” over time.
The Legislature will get another report in September that looks at which practices lead to the best public health return on investment based on health outcomes.
Estimated cost savings from prevented health issues could be used to help fill an expected hole in Medicaid funding in the 2017-1019 biennium.
Jan can be reached at [email protected].
