Stripped of its ideological distractions, Single Payer health care seems the simplest, most effective way to deliver a complex, expensive, and critical service. But how to prove it? Lawmakers in Salem are limping towards single payer, but to get there they need evidence that the system will deliver as promised. The Oregon legislature just authorized a study to evaluate four different health care delivery models, but they didn’t provide the $200,000 necessary to carry it out. That’s why Mad As Hell Doctors has stepped in to raise the money for the study. One of the Mad Doctors, Dr. Sam Metz, took time this month to explain the study, why it’s the next step to single payer, and how you can help make it a reality…
What is HB 3260?
Oregon lawmakers worry the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “ObamaCare”), even if working perfectly, will fail to address the needs of Oregon’s families, physicians, and employers. Reports from the Congressional Budget Office, the Commonwealth Fund, and Massachusetts’ real-world experience all indicate the ACA will not provide assured access, reduce costs, or improve health. Before proposing an alternative to the ACA, lawmakers need to study their options, and Oregon HB 3260 would let them do just that. It authorizes the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to supervise a study of four options to finance universal health care in Oregon. When the study is complete, the OHA will submit its report to the legislature with its recommendation from the options.
If you’re not convinced single-payer is the way to go, this article from our 2012 “News To Make You Furious” may help change your mind. (If not, nothing will!)
Experience in other states confirms the value of this type of financing study in motivating legislators and voters. Without solid, real-world information, legislators tend to avoid controversy and voters tend to act irrationally. Vigorous support of the HB 3260 study is the first and essential step to provide Oregon with a cost-effective health care plan that includes everyone.
Though the legislature passed HB 3260, they didn’t provide state funding for it so it will depend on private financing to proceed. The cost is estimated at $200,000. This figure is based on the costs of similar health care financing studies in other states, discussions with organizations that conducted similar studies, and with the individuals who commissioned those studies.
Two state legislatures already passed measures establishing statewide universal health care – Vermont will implement its plan in 2017; the California legislature, unfortunately, saw its proposal vetoed (twice) by then governor Schwarzenegger. In both cases, state studies authorized by the legislature were considered essential in providing legislators and voters with the information and confidence needed to take action. HB 3260 will provide us with that information here in Oregon.
What will be studied
The four options to be examined in the HB 3260 are:
- Implementation of the Affordable Care Act including private health insurance exchanges and the Oregon Health Care Transformation process.
- Implementation of the Affordable Care Act with the addition of a public option and including the Basic Health program of the Affordable Care Act.
- Publicly financed, privately delivered single payer health care, decoupled from employment.
- A plan selected by the OHA that makes available to every Oregonian essential health benefits, including preventive care and hospital services, using private insurance and privately delivered health care
The OHA is permitted to study other options as permitted by funding.
Who will conduct the study
The format of the HB 3260 study is based on those of other studies, notably Vermont. To date, there are 28 other studies of universal health care in the US – nine of them national and 19 state studies from 15 states. Studies were conducted by two government agencies and fourteen private consulting firms. All demonstrate that a well-designed financial system can provide universal health care for no more than is being spent now.
After funds are collected, the OHA will select the organization to conduct the study. Two organizations have already expressed interest in the study: the College of Public Health at Oregon State University, and the Optumas group in Arizona which conducted a similar study for Kansas.
Where is the fundraising now
The Health Care for All Oregon Education Fund (HCAOEF) supports universal health care by making it easy to donate funds for this study. To do so, they created a dedicated webpage at OregonStudy.org. Unlike Kickstarter, Indie Go-Go and other websites with administrative costs, all funds go to the study. This funding drive will be by word of mouth, so it depends upon friends telling friends that there’s a way to make single payer a reality. This study won’t be funded by just big contributors or corporate largesse. Right now, in a very real way, single payer in Oregon comes down to the actions of individuals. People like you are the only way it’s going to happen.
How you can contribute
Please visit the HCAOEF webpage at OregonStudy.org to learn more about the study and to contribute. The page includes links that discuss the import of the study, the complete text of the legislation, and more detail on other state studies. Contributions will be sent to the Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF), the fiscal agent for the study. When full funding is complete, the NWHF will make these funds available to the OHA. Because HCAOEF and the NWHF are both 501(c)3 organizations, all contributions are tax deductible.
To Contribute Online: You can make online contributions at the donation section of OregonStudy.org. The site accepts both credit cards and checks.
To Contribute By Mail: Contributions can also be made by mail to the NWHF. Please make your check out to the “Northwest Health Foundation Fund II”, note it for “HB 3260 Health Care Financing Study”, and send it to:
Northwest Health Foundation
221 NW Second Ave, Suite 300
Portland, OR 97209.
Contributors to the HB 3260 study so far include the Oregon Medical Association, the Oregon Primary Care Association, the Oregon Public Health Association, the National Physicians Alliance, SEUI locals 49 and 503, numerous small business owners, and individuals concerned about health care in Oregon.
To go even further…
The full, detailed information on HB 3260 is available at OregonStudy.org. For any additional information, please contact Dr. Samuel Metz, MD of PNHP Portland, by email at HB3260@samuelmetz.com or by phone at (503) 754-1329. If you’d like to have Dr. Metz or another of the Mad As Hell Doctors speak to your group about single payer, they’d be glad to make someone available. In the end, though, everything depends on YOU! Talk to your friends, please contribute, and join the fight to bring SINGLE PAYER TO OREGON!
