Tag Archives: Single Payer Insurance

Editorial: Choice of legislators will be health care choice

A job opening at the state of Oregon was posted earlier this month for the executive director to guide the state to a single-payer health care system. By Sept. 15, 2026, there is supposed to be a plan for the Legislature to consider. No state has made such a change. Oregon might be the first. […]
Read More »

Commentary: State health plan in Oregon will fix many ills

One jaded applicant to a dating site gave colleagues this advice: “New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream relieves a lot of sins…but not all of them.” So, too, with a single-payer plan and the many sins of Oregon’s health care system. Although sometimes touted as an all-purpose cure-all for Oregon’s health care failures, single […]
Read More »

Editorial: The challenge of long-term care in Oregon

The fogginess and nebulousness that surrounds a possible single-payer health care system in Oregon makes it hard to get too excited about it. It seems distant and unsettled. And yet state lawmakers pushed ahead with more planning for it this session in Senate Bill 1089. The idea is the state would become the health insurer. […]
Read More »

Editorial: Proposal for switch to single-payer health care moving ahead

It may not be getting lots of news coverage, but Oregon is marching forward toward a single-payer health care system. The next step is embedded in Senate Bill 704. It sets up the Universal Health Plan Governance Board to design details of the plan. It is supposed to present a plan to the Legislature and […]
Read More »

Oregon’s Socialized Healthcare by Lawsuit

State Library Ed. Note: If you cannot access this story via the link below, state employees can access this Wall Street Journal story HERE via the State Library’s subscription to the US Newstream database. Alternatively, state employees can contact us for access: LibraryHelp.SLO@slo.oregon.gov or 503-378-8800. Voters pass a legally enforceable version of Medicare for All. They […]
Read More »

Universal care in Oregon takes a step forward but faces obstacles ahead

Oregon lawmakers will soon be handed a plan for universal health care, as a state task force wrapped up its work on Thursday. The 19-member Joint Task Force on Universal Health Care approved its 225-page blueprint for a single-payer system, with one member voting against it. “The plan provides universal benefits common to everyone, a […]
Read More »

Editorial: Can state government be the hero and save Oregonians $2 billion on health care?

The heroes of the plan for single-payer health care in Oregon are government employees. Government employees will supposedly save more than $2 billion in costs by replacing much of the existing health insurance industry with themselves. The idea is profit margins would be removed. Less might be spent to process claims. Much of the work […]
Read More »

Editorial: Big, fat new taxes may make single-payer switch frightening

Nothing may scare Oregonians away faster from the state moving to a single-payer health plan than big, fat new taxes. And the state’s Task Force on Universal Health Care is talking about … big, fat new taxes. Just how big and fat? Billions. A new state income tax. A new payroll tax on businesses. And […]
Read More »

Editorial: One type of care that will not be covered in Oregon’s single-payer plan

When you hear that Oregon might move to a single-payer, state-run health plan, you may think: Yes! Every Oregonian would get health care coverage and the same level of coverage. Equity and quality might go up. Overall costs may be held down. You would pay taxes instead of health care premiums. That’s the kind of […]
Read More »

Guest column: Better health care for more people for less money

A recent Bulletin editorial expressed concern that our Senate Bill 770 single- payer task force will create a single-payer health care plan that displaces all other insurance plans. Perhaps readers are concerned, too. Here’s help understanding the mission of our single-payer task force and the meaning of “single-payer.” Source: Guest column: Better health care for […]
Read More »