Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon State Senator Alan Bates has proposed creating a public health care option for Oregon, under the terms of the new federal law.

Bates is a physician.  He says he started thinking about a public option when he heard Oregon’s U.S. Senator, Ron Wyden, mention a provision in the new federal law.

Wyden’s amendment lets states come up with their own plans for health care, provided they get the necessary waivers from the federal government.

Bates said his questions start there. “What do we legally have to do to have a chance  to be considered to do this? Until you know what your criteria is [sic], what your benefit package is going to be, and what you think usage of it is going to be, you cannot do any kind of analysis of the cost," he said.

But Bates says the goal is to make it revenue neutral, which he thinks is possible.

Oregon has a track record of experimenting with federal health care dollars. The Oregon Health Plan involved getting waivers for the expanded use of Medicaid money.

Those reforms gradually deteriorated due to budget and political problems.

Bates says he’ll meet with DHS director Bruce Goldberg and other legislative leaders soon, to see if an Oregon public option is feasible.