Reader Forum


Readers respond to the Billionaire & the Ballot, Federal Health Guarantees and a Shifting Nonprofit Landscape.

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A shifting nonprofit landscape

“No one is talking about the equity implications of this shift. When instead of a representative government making decisions about investments in the community and programs to provide, you now have a handful of rich individuals, foundations, and corporations who are deciding through their funding decisions. There’s no accountability mechanism that maintains equity.”
— Anthony Petchel


Editor’s Note: Measure 97 and Phil Knight

“Measure 97 is not ‘for the people’ but a way of back-filling underfunded state pensions before the jig is up and the politicians who provided favors for votes and financial support from said unions will be blamed for the coming shortfall. Oh they say it won’t go to pensions but indeed going into the General Fund freeing up other monies that could be allocated to the Ponzi scheme called PERS. Businesses like NIKE, good corporate citizens employing thousands and unlike so many loyal to our fair state will be punished for success, costs will be passed along to those who can least afford an increase, and assure the supporters of this ridiculous plan will remain in office if not in their job.

After all we certainly can trust our wonderful state workers with billions of dollars right? Gee what about $225million WASTED on CoverOregon? What about the green energy schemes, solar panel companies that defrauded the taxpayers and what about the millions in gas taxes that went for bike paths instead of roads. Drive on NW 23rd lately? It’s a Third World Experience you will not soon forget.

Sadly it’s easy to spend “OPM” opium or other people’s money. The liberal do gooders voting for this job killing, budget bursting payback for corruption think they are sticking it to ‘the man’ you know those evil corporations like NIKE that produce jobs, products and support our health and education system.”
— Elisabeth Anderson


The failure of federal guarantees

“Federal underfunding of the risk corridor program did have a fatal impart on Health Republic but the imparct on Oregon’s Health CO-OP was less significant.

Oregon’s Health CO-OP’s sudden, catastrophic mid-year failure, that unfortunately caused tens of thousands of CO-OP Members to have to scramble to replace their health insurance coverage, was caused by the management’s gross overestimate of the amount of money the CO-OP would recover under the ACA Risk Adjustment Factor program (management reported to regulators that they anticipated recovering ~$5mil in RAF payments, when, only weeks later, the federal government demonstrated that the CO-OP actually OWED almost $1mil to the RAF program.) Generally, management failed to understand the RAF program or execute a strategy to (a) contain the CO-OP’s liability; or (b) maximize the CO-OP’s financial return to compensate for the care provided to its most medically needy Members.”
— Bill Donahue