Рекомендации губернатору Орегона по выходу из цикла роста стоимости здравоохранения

Editorial: Finding a way out of Oregon’s unhealthy healthcare loop Published 10:00 am Wednesday, August 12, 2026 Healthcare in Oregon is caught in an unhealthy loop. Costs are going up. The Oregon Health Plan, Medicaid, and Medicare don’t pay the full cost of the care they provide. That shifts costs to the private insurance market. It ends up picking up the tab. Oregon is about in the middle among the states of the percentage of its population covered by private insurance. That’s good. But Oregon has a higher percentage of the population enrolled in Medicaid, 33%. That’s above the national average of 21%. That’s not so good. It means the burden on the commercial market in Oregon is higher than in other states. The cost pressure can drive up premiums. The cost of benefits for family coverage averages more than $24,000 and more than $8,000 for an individual. It puts strain on businesses. Smaller ones can have more difficulty covering the costs. And it’s not that much easier for the larger ones. Then there’s the makeup of Oregon’s economy. Bigger employers have always played an important role in the state’s economy. Where more of the growth of business has been in recent years is in smaller and mid-sized businesses. Fantastic. It’s less fantastic when you consider how smaller businesses can have a more difficult time being able to afford health insurance for their employees. The rising cost of healthcare puts another layer of tension on the system as a whole. That analysis is basically the stage setter directly from the recommendation to Gov. Tina Kotek from her Health System Sustainability Group. It was an effort first led by former Gov. John Kitzhaber. There is no easy way out of the unhealthy loop. Some of the recommendations from the Health System Sustainability Group are controversial. Here is just one: The governor should use her power to help shift labor negotiations between healthcare workers and their employers. Oregon should move to more of an interest-based approach from a position-based approach in labor negotiations. Parties would not negotiate based on a position they want to prevail, but attempt to find mutual gain through a discussion of goals. Unions may be very much opposed to such a suggestion. And healthcare workers certainly deserve to be well-compensated. But if the state is going to get control of healthcare costs, it can’t leave out the cost of the workers that provide the care as one of the things driving up costs. Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Editor Jody Lawrence-Turner, Editor Tim Trainor and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe.