JOIN THE DIALOGUE!

OHSU is encouraging a public dialogue to find equitable and compassionate solutions to the crisis of access. Together, we can find ways to meet the health care needs of all Oregonians.

There are many people working very hard to develop solutions and new approaches to health care in Oregon. As a service, below are a few places where you can find information on some activities going on.

On campus, the Association of Students for the Underserved (ASU) is a group of health professions students and providers interested in working with medically underserved populations and in promoting increased access to health care. Their web site information is at http://www.ohsu.edu/som/dean/md/sa/nonspecialty.shtml#5

The State of Oregon provides information about legislative efforts. You can e-mail the legislator from the district where you live to get more information about the health care access crisis and to let him or her know your views on health care access reform. To find your legislator go to http://www.leg.state.or.us/writelegsltr/

There are several ballot initiatives that address health care access. You can search for this information at http://egov.sos.state.or.us/elec/web_irr_search.search_form. Two measures that deal directly with health care access for everyone are:

• Measure 40: an amendment to the Oregon Constitution which says that health care is a right, and tells the state legislature to come up with a plan by 2006 to extend health insurance to everyone in the state.
• Measure 111: requires the 2007 Legislature to establish an "organizational and financial framework to achieve basic universal health care coverage" for Oregonians.

(Note for OHSU employees: as a public entity, OHSU does not endorse or support ballot initiatives or other political activity. Also, our employees should follow the political activity guidelines described on OHSU's Government Relations web site.)

The Archimedes Movement is a grassroots effort recently launched by former Governor John Kitzhaber to change the way we pay for health care. His proposal involves pooling Medicare, Medicaid and employer-paid insurance premiums to pay for basic but still universal access to health care.

OHSU's Crisis in Health Care Access site (especially the information on the Home Page and in the Multimedia Library) provides good background. Also, a list of groups working on health care issues is in Related Links.

Please contact us at shareit@ohsu.edu to let us know about other efforts or groups that should be listed here, or to share your thoughts about this very important issue. Thanks.