Frustration with our current health-care system is rampant. The current system is inequitable and inefficient. Just one example: The U.S. spends five times as much per person as Estonia, four times as much as Greece and the Czech Republic, and twice as much as Iceland and Japan, only to achieve worse healthcare outcomes.

A single-payer financing system is more fair because everyone has access to health-care regardless of their ability to pay It’s “everybody in, nobody out.” It is also more efficient, because more care can be provided for less cost. Under a single-payer plan, you can get the care you need where and when you need it, as opposed to a for-profit insurance company whose profit model is based on denying care.

On Nov. 8, 2022, Oregon voters passed Measure 111, the “Right to Health-Care” amendment. The measure was supported by over 50 organizations as diverse as Providence Health Services, Planned Parenthood, Oregon AFT, Main Street Alliance, SEIU and Oregon AFL-CIO. The constitutional amendment established the state’s obligation to ensure every Oregon resident has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care.

As the first state to explicitly state the necessary components for health care, declaring them as a human right for all of our residents, it’s time for us to take the next step. At this writing, the Oregon State Senate is considering support of SB 1089, which would establish a Universal Health Plan Governance Board and direct the board to create a comprehensive plan for implementing a universal health plan beginning in 2027. Please contact your legislators and consider submitting testimony for SB 1089 at the Oregon Legislative Information Service website.

Andrew Seles

Ashland