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 December Advocates face off with Sizemore over special session With the general fund approaching a $1 billion deficit, legislators will begin the new year with one hand on a knife gouging away at public programs and the other held out to taxpayers. They’ll be fighting an uphill battle with slippery numbers. “The forecast is risky,” said Cora Parker, a revenue economist with the Office of Economic Analysis. “There are a lot of unanswered questions with respect to the economy, and the war that is going on which make it hard to calculate.” But advocates for the poor, aged and disabled aren’t sitting on their hands. They’ve put together a strategic plan to take the pressure off social services. Still upset that the kicker went out on schedule, they want to delay Measure 88, worth $160 million “until we’re not the state with the highest unemployment in the country,” said Patrick Green, political organizer for SEIU. They want increased taxes on cigarettes, beer, wine and liquor. Maine gives boost to Oregon single-payer initiative If Health Care for All-Oregon gets its way, Maine and Oregon will soon share more than the names of their largest cities. The Oregon group is trying to harness the success of Portland, Maine’s recent bid for a single-payer health care system into its own quest for universal coverage. With more than 30,000 of the 67,000 signatures collected, there’s a strong likelihood the initiative will appear on the November ballot. Now the group of 1,500 volunteers is gearing up for the more difficult task of marketing their plan to voters. Instead of plucking at the heart strings with the plight of the uninsured, their sales pitch is centered on cost savings and consumer choice. Eugene courts McKenzie-Willamette There won’t be any new babies born in Eugene when PeaceHealth closes Sacred Heart Medical Center for the greener pastures of neighboring Springfield. There won’t be an emergency room in the city’s core, either. Mercy draws physicians A year ago things looked bleak for Mercy Medical Center and other Douglas County health care providers. A shortage of primary care doctors caused Mercy to unite with the Roseburg Clinic, Evergreen Family Medicine and Valley Medical Group to recruit new physicians and address deficiencies within the area’s health care system. Farmworker clinic model for co-payments With higher copayments in the works for the Oregon Health Plan, many are questioning the ability of hospitals and physicians to collect. If the 15 clinics run by the Yakima Valley Farmworker Clinics are any indication, the answer is yes. The clinics serve a large uninsured population, many of whom are migrant or seasonal workers. “It is very rare for us not to receive payment,” said Carlos Perez Medina, Oregon development director. “They want to pay as much as they can afford. It’s a matter of mutual help. They help the clinic to stay viable.” Talking with Ted Kitzhaber’s favorite gubernatorial candidate talks health care In his four years as Oregon’s insurance commissioner, Ted Kulongoski learned to play hard ball with health insurers. Now, propelled by the endorsement of Governor John Kitzhaber, he’s an early front-runner in the race to succeed him. OHF reporter Rory Carroll sat down with Kulongoski at his southeast Portland headquarters to discuss critical health care issues — the Oregon Health Plan, contraceptive coverage and tort reform. Each month, Oregon Health Forum will present an interview with a major league gubernatorial candidate. OHF: Malpractice premiums are rising at a very fast pace and the latest attempt by physicians to bring about tort reform fell by the wayside. How would you resolve the problem? TK: Look, I'm going to tell you what my view is, and this is the former insurance commissioner speaking. Every time there is an economic downturn, the insurance companies start increasing health care rates to try to present this issue that there's a crisis here. Then they say you have to take another step — you need tort reform. I don't believe that. Tobacco stocks nag health insurers In the late 1990s, Oregon Health Forum shed light on ODS and PacificSource health plans, among others, owning tobacco stock. At that time, health insurers were typically apologetic, quickly turning around to sell those stocks. But that sentiment appears to have vanished as the stock market has become more volatile. PacificSource just can't kick the habit. In 1998, OHF learned that it owned stock in tobacco mogul Philip Morris, the largest producer of tobacco products in the world. When confronted with the information, then-CEO Greg McCumsey immediately sold the stocks and told OHF that PacificSource prohibits its investment manager from purchasing tobacco stocks. Now, OHF has once again found a small amount of the carcinogenic stock passed through its portfolio from the third quarter reports filed with the Insurance Division. Steve Ord, CFO, said the company has no policy against owning tobacco related stock, which he said slipped into its portfolio accidentally and has since been sold. ODS, Oregon Dental Service and Lifewise have adopted a policy of not owning tobacco stock. Health Net, Kaiser, PacifiCare, Providence, Regence BlueCross BlueShield and PacificSource, on the other hand, have no such policy, according to their spokespeople. Orthopedic doctors protest St. Vincent’s ER policy A controversial policy change is pitting Portland area doctors against each other. Dr. John Tongue, an orthopedic surgeon at Legacy Meridian Park Hospital, has been on courtesy staff at Providence St. Vincent’s Hospital for more than two decades. But he couldn’t believe his eyes when he received a letter from Dr. Jay Butler, an orthopedic surgeon and staff member at St. Vincent’s, which said starting January 1, all courtesy staff members would be required to serve on-call time at their emergency room on top of paying their yearly dues. Also in this issue...
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