Oregon’s health care system is at a breaking point. Hospitals are on the verge of collapse. Birthing and dialysis centers are closing down, leaving Oregonians in the lurch. 

Hospitals and clinics are relying on outside corporate private equity firms for injections of cash just to stay afloat. This cedes ownership and operations to those with a profit motive, those who are accountable to their shareholders, and not the patients served.

Should Medicaid funding be taken away, one in three Oregonians who rely on the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) will lose access to care. Countless others will face rising costs and shrinking options. The stakes have never been higher.

Health Care for All Oregon (HCAO) believes the solution to many, if not most of these problems is a publicly funded, universal health care system model. And, thanks to the current work of the Universal Health Plan Governance Board (UHPGB), which is actively designing a plan that we Oregonians can vote on in the near future, Oregon is the state closest to enacting this type of system for our residents.

Readers are encouraged to learn more about the UHPGB by reviewing their website on Oregon.gov and to get involved, tune into the public meetings and make your voice heard about what you want from a new type of healthcare system in Oregon. 

Readers can also visit hcao.org to learn more about this work and other strategies to increase not just coverage, but true access to care.

VALDEZ G. BRAVO

President, Health Care for All Oregon

Lake Oswego