Oregon’s Universal Care Ballot Initiative a ‘Risky Experiment,’ Editorial Says

Oregon residents will become "guinea pigs" in a "failed experiment" in the event that state voters approve Measure 23, which would establish a tax-funded, single-payer health care system, according to a Wall Street Journal editorial (Wall Street Journal, 10/23). The measure would require the state to implement a universal care system that covers all "medically necessary health services," including preventive care, prescription drugs, long-term care and alternative care, by 2005. A new state agency, called the Oregon Comprehensive Health Care Finance Board, made up of two members from each congressional district and five members appointed by the governor, would oversee the system. Businesses would pay a new payroll tax of up to 11.5%, and personal income tax rates would increase from 9% to as much as 17%. The new system is expected to cost the state $19 billion per year(Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/22). According to the editorial, Measure 23 would make Oregon residents "lab mice on medical care waiting lists" and would "cover anyone with the mere 'intent' of residing in the state, regardless of pre-existing illnesses." The editorial states that the measure would not require copayments to "discourage frivolous use" of health services, adding that the only cost "control mechanism would be the board's ability to coerce providers into accepting lower" reimbursement rates. The editorial also cites an estimate from the American Association of Health Plans, which predicts that the Measure 23 would cost the state $3.5 billion more in the first year than the measure would raise in new tax revenues. The editorial calls the measure a "risky experiment" that would "turn the state into a haven for the nation's sick and dependent" and "destroy" the private health insurance market (Wall Street Journal, 10/23).