Citizen Initative Approved: Full Socialized Medicine for Oregon in on the Ballot for November

Web Site of "Oregon Health Care for All" ^ | Recently Certified for November 2002 | various socialist activists - TBD

[Jack Black]

Summary of Measure 23

Measure 23 ensures access to affordable quality health care for all Oregon residents through a comprehensive plan providing payment for medically necessary health services.

Key concepts

Universality - All residents of the state of Oregon are eligible to participate.

Security - This health coverage can never be denied if you or your family change jobs, retire, or have a pre-existing condition.

Choice - You can choose from any state licensed, certified, or registered health care practitioner. YOU pick your doctor, your HMO doesn't.

Affordability - Eliminating deductibles, co-payments, and insurance premiums will save nearly every Oregonian money.

Comprehensive Benefits

The plan covers medically necessary health services as determined and provided by any state licensed, certified, or registered health care practitioner.

This includes, but is not limited to, prescription drugs, dental, vision, inpatient and outpatient care, mental health, and in-home, emergency, and long-term care.

There are no exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

Financing This plan will have three sources of financing:

Current expenditures by federal, state, and local governments will provide more than a third of what will be needed.

A progressive tax on employers’ payroll will replace current insurance premiums paid by employers. The percentage ranging from 3 to 11.5% will depend on the size of the payroll, with only the largest corporations paying the highest percentages. Self-employed individuals will be exempt.

A progressive personal income tax will replace most personal health care spending: premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses for such items as prescription drugs, glasses, mental health, and alternative care. The rate will be between 0 and 8% of taxable income. Families at or below 150% of the federal poverty level are exempt.

Management

A publicly accountable, nonprofit Health Care Finance Board will be set up to administer the system. Two Board members will be elected from each congressional district, and the Governor will appoint five additional members, including one consumer advocate and one person from a union.

The Board will negotiate compensation with health care practitioners and facilities, and will establish quality control and cost containment programs. Costs will be controlled by establishing a global budget, capping administrative costs, and negotiating the purchase of pharmaceuticals. The quality of care will be enhanced as patients exercise complete freedom of choice of health care providers and the nature of their care is determined by their provider.

[Jack Black]

This is unbelievable. What next. Why not vote that everyone in the state gets a new Subaru every other year? The bill authorizes a 20% tax on the income of the top wage earners in the state. How many people will stick around for a thrasing like that? I know I won't. My employer is happy to have me work anywhere I choose to. Washington (state) is about 20 minutes from here. Nevada ain't *that* far. So far everyone I've talked to thinks it will fail, but there are a lot of Socialists in this state.

How are we going to restore the Constitution when the idiot left is driving the agenda like this?

[theartfuldodger]

I'd hate to see something like this pass anywhere in the country. This is typical cradle to grave socialism with some class envy thrown in. It looks like they want the "big rich corporations" and those who make more than 150% over the poverty level to pay for this. If you have a low income or are a small business owner then you get it for free.

[Jack Black]

Yes. Plus you should read what you have to do to "opt out" if you are a corporation. It reads right out of the Ralph Nader handbook. Set up a separate 401c with "worker participation". Hopefully this goes down in flames, but I don't know. There are a lot of people pissed about healthcare in the USA and Oregon.

[Jack Black]

BUMP.

[2banana]

wow - all this for only 20% of my pay - NO THANK YOU

[Jack Black]

Here is the list from web site of the endorsers and supporters. A sick bunch if ever there was one ...

ACORN
ADAPT
American Federation of Teachers - Oregon
American Medical Student Association
American Medical Women’s Association
The Honorable JoAnn Bowman
Church Women United in Oregon
Communication Workers Union
Community Alliance of Tenants
Democratic Party of Lane County
East Side Democratic Club
Elders in Action Commission
Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network
Gray Panthers, Portland
Hanford Watch
Jobs with Justice
Lane Community College Education Association
Harry Lonsdale
Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates
Multnomah County Disability Services Advisory Council
Multnomah County Retired Educators
NAACP, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington State Conference
National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch #82
National Association of Social Workers, Oregon Chapter
New Party
Northwest Oregon Labor Retirees
Older Women’s League, Portland Chapter
OPEU Retirees
Oregon Acupuncture Association
Oregon Advocacy Center
Oregon Coast Council for the Arts
Oregon Consumer League
Oregon Health Action Campaign
Oregon NOW (National Organization for Women)
Oregon Progressive Women
Oregon State Council of Senior Citizens
Pacific Green Party
Physicians for a National Health Program
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Project Equality
United Seniors of Oregon
United Steelworkers of Oregon
Unitarian Universalist Health Care Task Force of Portland
Unitarian Universalist Social Concerns Committee of Eugene

[MrB]

How many people will stick around for a thrashing like that?

The next step in the progression of socialism would be to make it illegal (ie - through the use of deadly force) for you to move or try to opt out in any way.

Threatening to kill those who don't comply is the only way that socialism can keep from immediately collapsing.

[BubbaJunebug]

My guess is that this will pass by 60% to 40%

Then all of the slackers will move to Oregon and the rest of us will be done with them. :)

[Don Corleone]

Here is the list from web site of the endorsers and supporters. A sick bunch if ever there was one

And every one of them with direct ties to the Communist/Socialist Party

[Kermit]

Here's where I started laughing out loud:

"Affordability - Eliminating deductibles, co-payments, and insurance premiums will save nearly every Oregonian money."

Yeah, Oregon voters, pass this gimme law and you'll save money. Hee hee hee, snort, chortle.

[robertpaulsen]

"Measure 23 ensures access to affordable quality health care .."

'Affordable quality' is an oxymoron. They'll be crossing states lines for quality care faster than the Canadians.

[ECM]

What do they define as the top income bracket? I was THIS close to packing up and moving from Cali to Oregon, but now it looks like I'll be heading elsewhere.

[pabianice]

Stand-by for the mobs of businesses and taxpayers fleeing Oregon. But where will they go?

[cynicom]

I see two listings for physicians in there. Many of them have been in the forefront of socialized medicine for years. Our resident doctors here do not seem to agree with these gentlemen.

[general_re]

You would think that folks could just look a few hundred miles to the north and observe that the BC health care system is slowly collapsing under its own weight.

Whatever. I don't live in Oregon, and if this passes, I can cross Oregon off of my list of places to live - just don't expect us folks outside of Oregon to pay for it. If nothing else, it'll serve as a horrible cautionary example of what not to do for the rest of the country...

[MrB]

where will they go

Fortunately, until this is implemented on a federal level, there are about 35 free states that they can move to.
That is, until it becomes illegal to not participate in socialism.

Just think of the deadly seriousness of this if it were nation-wide. Truly nowhere to run to within the US.

[Free the USA]

Index Bump

[Mr. Bird]

The Board will negotiate compensation with health care practitioners and facilities, and will establish quality control and cost containment programs. Costs will be controlled by establishing a global budget, capping administrative costs, and negotiating the purchase of pharmaceuticals

Oh, I guess it will work then. Don't these morons get it? "Negotiate compensation with health care practitioners and facilities"? Absent alternatives, maybe. But if they are not planning to outlaw private insurers, they will have competition, and all bets are off with "negotiations". The market (well, its health-related bastard child) will prevail.

So, they'll have a budget and they'll "cap" adminstrative costs. These people are living in fantasyland! What do you suppose happens to admininstrative costs when every friggin person decides to seek medical attention for the sniffles because it's FREE? Just a thumbs up, thumbs down vote by the omniscient board? Yeah, that'll be a fast process with millions of claims.

[Myrddin]

My employer has a presence in every state of the U.S. That was an advantage when shifting from CA to ID as my new home. It also has disadvantages. The company is exposed to the buffeting of every liberal program in every state. Our health care package is required to pay for "domestic partners" because of the presence in CA. The presence in Oregon will subject the whole company to subsidizing the socialist health care program...to the detriment of health care packages offered to employees in other states. I hope the "contribution" to the Oregon program can be limited to the size of the company payroll that consists of Oregon residents.

My company charges labor rates based on the employees assigned to the task. Since 1999, the employees based in San Diego have been saddled with higher rates to compensate for increased electricity rates. The consequence has been a shift of work to company locations with a lower cost of doing business. If the socialist healthcare initiative gets passed in Oregon, I suspect that the employees there will find themselves priced out of the competition for new work. They will have to leave Oregon for places with lower cost structures that can successfully bid for work.

Since relocating to Idaho, I'm working jobs in Ohio, Virginia and California. Some of the work can be done at the home office. Some requires presence at the customer site. I'm not happy about the amount of time away from home that is required in the new scenario, but it sure beats being unemployed in San Diego.

[Gritty]

This will pass easily. After all, who can pass up "free" health care?

"If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it's free!" (P.J. O'Rourke)

If I lived in Oregon, I would be putting my house up For Sale this afternoon. Oregon is quickly becoming a lost cause following Kommiefornia down The Road To Hell!