April 1, 2010

Share this article! A possible public option Oregon Sen. Alan Bates is spearheading an effort to create a state-run health care plan that would provide a public option, paving the way for universal coverage. An amendment to the federal health care plan by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., created a provision that allows states to … Read more

A possible public option

Oregon Sen. Alan Bates is spearheading an effort to create a state-run health care plan that would provide a public option, paving the way for universal coverage. An amendment to the federal health care plan by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., created a provision that allows states to enact their own health care program, including the creation of a public option.

After studying Wyden’s provision, Bates, a physician who practices in Medford, said he believed the amendment would allow Oregon to expand its progressive health care program, called the Oregon Health Plan.

“We really have a good chance of setting up a public option here,” said Bates, who was involved in the creation of the Oregon Health Plan while serving on the state’s Health Services Commission, which he chaired for three years. He began serving on the commission in 1989 and continued until resigning to run for public office in 2000.

Bates said he has had meetings with Wyden and state officials to lay the groundwork for universal health care coverage.

Read the full story in the Mail Tribune.

Naturopaths fill the gap

Only two other states are on a par with Oregon in allowing naturopaths to prescribe drugs, which is key in being able to provide complete primary care. Only 15 states, including Oregon, license naturopaths, which means that in 35 states naturopaths can’t legally practice primary care, and are limited to providing alternative care.

On Jan. 1, a new state law granted Oregon naturopaths the authority to prescribe nearly all pharmaceuticals. Previously, naturopaths could not prescribe most synthetic drugs. Legislators passed the bill hoping it would lead to more naturopaths filling the need for primary care providers.

Read the full story in the Portland Tribune.

No jobs for soldiers

Nearly 51 percent of the returning Oregon National Guard have told commanders they have no job waiting. An exhaustive new national report finds that the most challenging transition for their families will come after they arrive.

In 192 pages of bad news on the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an Institute of Medicine report released Wednesday describes a “lifelong burden of war” that endangers marriages and children, alienates employers and will cost the nation more in disability benefits, pension and health care as these soldiers age.

“If the patterns follow previous wars, the real peak in needs will be 2040 or later,” said Dr. Albert Wu, a committee member and professor of Health Policy and Management at and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “We have not begun to plan for that.”

Read the full story in the Oregonian.

Fish ignite argument

How to gauge harm to threatened steelhead was debated in a recent courtroom battle between ranchers, environmentalists and the federal government. The debate related to a legal challenge against cattle grazing in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest.

An environmental group, the Oregon Natural Desert Association, claims the federal government violated the Endangered Species Act by permitting grazing that degraded steelhead habitat in the national forest. A key measure of cattle grazing’s impact on steelhead is bank alteration, which is basically the percentage of the streambank that’s altered by hoofprints. Ranchers on 13 allotments in the forest are expected to keep bank alteration below 10 to 20 percent, depending on the area, as part of the federal requirements that allow grazing. The environmental group claims that exceeding those thresholds is equivalent to killing steelhead, an “unlawful take” that constitutes a violation of the Endangered Species Act. Ranchers who rely on the forest to graze their cattle allege those thresholds were arbitrarily set by the federal government and aren’t based on the best available science, as required by the ESA.

Read more in the Capital Press.

Animal research defended

OHSU defends its animal research after years of silence and controversy. Until now, OHSU’s response has mainly been to ignore the protesters and instead try to spin positive publicity about research at the center.

Since OHSU took over the Oregon National Primate Research Center in 1998, the 237-acre facility in Hillsboro has been a flashpoint for the national animal rights movement. The center has been infiltrated by animal rights activists posing as workers. Its scientists’ homes have been vandalized. About twice a year, protesters descend on OHSU’s main complex on Marquam Hill or the school’s Richmond clinic in Southeast Portland.

But after the Jan. 21 demonstration by In Defense of Animals, OHSU decided to fight back. In an hourlong interview with WW in March, OHSU spokesman Jim Newman laid out the school’s justification for animal research while blasting both the tactics and beliefs of animal rights activists. Newman also brought Ilhem Messaoudi, a Cornell grad engaged in animal research at the center, and C.J. Doane, a former manager at Charles River Laboratories, the world’s largest supplier of lab animals. She now serves as head veterinarian at the primate center.

Read the full story in Willamette Week.