Oregon to Look at Single-Payer Bill Next Session

Advocates for a dedicated tax to pay for basic health coverage want to introduce a single-payer bill next session

By David Rosenfeld for The Lund Report –

A loose coalition of single-payer advocates in Oregon has taken the first steps toward developing legislation for the 2011 session

The bill would ultimately work in conjunction with the state’s ongoing efforts to form a health insurance exchange and possibly a public option, supporters say.

State Rep. Michael Dembrow, a first-term Democrat from northeast Portland, is interested in sponsoring a state-based single-payer bill, but first wants to give advocates a chance to reach consensus.

Groups involved in the effort include Portland Jobs with Justice, Physicians for a National Health Program with chapters in Corvallis and Portland, Health Care For All Oregon and the League of Women Voters.

“It’s all very preliminary,” Dembrow said. “There are many of us who feel that ultimately the best way to pay for healthcare is through a single-payer program – not deliver it, but pay for it. It’s something that needs to remain in the conversation.”

States including Vermont, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and California – where a Democratic-controlled legislature twice passed single-payer bills that were vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – are also working on single-payer legislation this year.

A recent letter from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) to Democratic and Republican leaders in the Oregon Legislature gave encouragement to the idea of seeking federal waivers so states can pursue innovative ideas that go further than the federal law. The letter did not, however, offer any specific concepts.

“I write to lend my support to your efforts to develop an Oregon-specific plan for our state to do health reform its own way,” the letter states. “I believe in the concept of ‘state choice,’ and that every state has the right to provide healthcare to its own residents in its own way, as long as the goal is to provide all citizens with quality, comprehensive coverage.”

Wyden said he authored section 1331 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to give states the ability to continue working toward cost-effective healthcare while retaining access to federal funding.

“We don’t see ourselves as acting in contradiction to anything people are doing in Salem,” said Peter Shapiro, an organizer with Portland Jobs with Justice. “We just see it as part of the mix