skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Rally Challenges Legislature to Fix Broken System

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 7, 2009   

Salem, OR – More than a million Oregonians are without health insurance, and some will be on the State Capitol steps on Wednesday, April 8, to tell lawmakers it's time to start voting on reforms to Oregon's healthcare system.

At a "Health Care Action Day" rally, a coalition of consumer and senior advocacy groups and labor unions predicts hundreds of people will turn out to show their support for House Bill 2009. It would create a single agency, the Oregon Health Authority, to oversee all health-related programs in the state.

Carla Spence, field coordinator for the caregivers' union, SEIU Local 503, believes there may eventually be federal progress on healthcare - but says Oregon can't afford to wait for it.

"What we're doing is to really advocate for improvements in access and affordability. We have a system that is unsustainable, in terms of the number of people who are uninsured having a cost shift onto those who are insured."

Beverly Massey of Lincoln City is a home care worker who plans to attend the rally. She wants lawmakers to know about one of her clients, a stroke victim who is just barely able to live on Social Security income.

"Every prescription is a new reason for worry – will the insurance cover it? And then, she's heard all the rumors of clients being cut off of the Oregon Health Plan because of our budget crisis, and she's terrified that she could get cut off."

Backers of HB 2009 say it would expand the Oregon Health Plan, help more small businesses and individuals find coverage, and cut the number of uninsured Oregonians by one-third. Opponents don't like the fact that it would be funded in part by fees charged to hospitals and insurance companies.

The Health Care Action Day rally takes place on Wednesday at noon, in front of the State Capitol building in Salem.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021