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Supporters to Lobby for Affordable Health Care for All Oregon

May 6, 2013

 

May 6, 2013 -- The Oregon House Committee on Health Care has scheduled a hearing for 1 p.m. in Room E at the Capitol on Monday, May 13, for HB 2922, the Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan. HB 2922 was introduced by Representatives Michael Dembrow and Jennifer Williamson and co-sponsored by 19 additional representatives in the House, as well as three in the Senate.  The bill offers a publicly funded plan to cover everyone living or working in Oregon with health care. This plan would allow all Oregonians the opportunity to have their health care needs met by a certified medical provider of their choice. The health care provided would include a full range of medically necessary preventive, inpatient, outpatient, mental health, dental and vision services, as well as prescription medications. The bill does not define how the plan would be paid for other than by a progressive tax mechanism. 

Three panels of advocates for the bill, including Representatives Dembrow and Williamson, Samuel Metz, MD,  Bill Whitaker of LaGrande and Mark Kellenbeck of the Ashland Main Street Alliance, will give testimony about our broken medical system and about the benefits passage of HB 2922 would bring to Oregon: a happier and healthier population, a competitive edge for local business and a financial boon to the Oregon economy. The rest of the hearing will be open for public testimony. 

Performers from the TREE Institute, an arts, education and cultural organization and one of the founding members of the Health Care for All-Oregon coalition, are planning a brief skit based on the impact of denial of medical claims by insurance companies, which will be followed by stories from personal experience. This enactment will take place for the benefit of the media at 10 a.m. In the Capitol press room.

Supporters of HB 2922 hope to make Oregon the first to emulate Vermont in passage of enabling legislation for publicly funded universal health care. More than 20 other states are considering similar bills.

For more information, visit http://hcao.org/health-care-legislation/.

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