All Health Care All the Time

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the number of people who have been dropped from Medicaid nationwide has now reached 3.8 million people. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has developed an interactive map to help unwind the data of the millions who are losing coverage throughout our country.

But in Oregon, it’s different. While we wait for a comprehensive, universal system, Oregon created the Basic Health Plan. HCAO Board members Mike Collins and Tony Germann were guests on Jefferson Public Radio’s Jefferson Exchange last week discussing Oregon’s Basic Health Plan. The Basic Health Plan is intended to help “bridge coverage” through this newly established entity for those patients who no longer qualify for OHP. Click here to hear the full story!

Rural communities are disproportionately impacted when patients are  disenrolled from health coverage. Rural hospitals in particular are struggling to stay open without Medicaid funding. In Baker County, the only maternity ward for 50 miles is slated to be closed in a month. Oregon can do better with a simple, universal health care system where everyone’s in and nobody’s out!