SALEM—
With Oregonians facing sharply rising health insurance costs, Oregon
State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) joined with nurses and
other health care advocates today to applaud a bill aimed at making
children’s health coverage affordable for all Oregon families.
“Gov.
Kulongoski, Senator Monnes Anderson and Representative Greenlick are
doing the right thing by advancing this smart plan for Oregon’s
children,” said Laura Etherton, OSPIRG consumer advocate.
The
plan comes in response to the fact that nearly 118,000 Oregon children
go without health insurance. Over 90% of uninsured children come from
families in which at least one parent works, but steeply rising
insurance costs put coverage out of reach.
“Children
without health insurance are more likely to end up in the emergency
room. It’s terrible for them, and it actually ends up driving costs up
for everyone,” says Etherton.
The
bill creates the Oregon Healthy Kids Program, which would give every
child access to quality affordable health care by securing new federal
funds for the Oregon Health Plan, as well as by pooling purchasing
power to negotiate an affordable, accountable private children’s
insurance plan available on a sliding scale to Oregon families.
“It
simply makes sense to give children guaranteed access to checkups,
preventative care and other treatment,” said Etherton, Oregon can
create the healthiest and strongest generation of children ever, and
the Healthy Kids Plan is the right place to start.”
