Media that empowers working people – that's how we build a More Perfect Union.

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Ideas

Have a story to tell or idea to share?
Email [email protected]
© 2021 More Perfect Union Action

Together we can build power for working people.

We’re asking questions that really matter, and telling the stories of people who really need to be seen and heard.

You can support our work by donating today.

Amount

Make It Monthly

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Oregon Could Be the First State To Make Health Care a Right

Advocates say the change could help hundreds of thousands access health care.

Oregon may become the first state to make health care a constitutional right in November. Residents will vote on Ballot Measure 111, which would amend the state constitution to give every Oregonian a right to “cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care.”

The ballot initiative would put health care roughly on par with the right to public education, which is in every state constitution. Like with the right to education, the proposed language making health care a right in the state constitution is intentionally vague, giving the legislature the freedom to interpret and implement policy changes. 

“If the constitution says health care is a right, and we’ll say it has an obligation to work on this, that’s going to change to some extent, how we think about policy and budget,” State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who pushed for the ballot initiative, told More Perfect Union. 

Should the measure pass, Steiner Hayward says that she will push for a waiver that would keep people under 200 percent of the federal poverty level insured. She does not believe Measure 111 would change how people get their health insurance, nor does she think it would lead to a single-payer system, like the one in Canada, where one public agency pays for health care.

However, there would be one immediate change for residents. Oregonians would be able to sue the state if it “fails to satisfactorily implement each resident of Oregon’s fundamental right to access cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care,” according to Lorey Freeman, a member of the legislative council, in a committee meeting document

Oregon already pays for health care for almost one-third of residents through the state’s Medicaid plan, the Oregon Health Plan, which offers insurance to residents under 133 percent of the poverty level. Yet, 30 percent of Oregonians have trouble paying medical bills and 10 percent have forgone medical care due to cost. Activists hope the ballot initiative will close the gap. 

“There’s still a big cost to the worker, there’s the copay, there’s all of these things that factor into like, even though we’ve been able to negotiate health care, are people actually able to have access to it, and be able to use it?” said Renee Ruiz, a Health Care for All Oregon board member and Oregon Nurses Association organizer. She believes that the initiative would help residents get preemptive care, which would help people avoid expensive emergency room visits.  

Nearly one-third of state constitutions mention health, yet none guarantee health care for residents. States are generally reluctant to identify express, enforceable rights to health care for all. Though no state has declared health care as a right, the states that do mention health care in their constitutions saw a reduction in the infant mortality rate of approximately 7.8 percent, according to a study. The health benefits were most evident in non-white communities.

Related Stories

Medical Debt
A Measure to Crack Down on Predatory Medical Debt Collection Is on the Verge of Making the Ballot in Arizona
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Election To Watch: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez on the Verge of Upsetting Pro-Trump Candidate
Read More

The Latest

YouTube Thumbnail
Why Barnes & Noble Workers Formed Their First Union
Read More
Workers and Activists Force Dollar General to Address Workplace Safety Issues
Read More
Gas Pipeline Deal Follows Donations to Congressional Leaders
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
This Could Be The Biggest Strike In U.S. History
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
We Talked To Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar About Universal School Meals
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The ‘No Labels’ Third Party Bid That Could Sabotage Trump and Biden
Read More
Pharma & Crypto Among Winners as Revolving Door Spins From Congress
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Medicaid Work Requirements: We Exposed the TRUE Cost of Republicans’ Top Priority
Read More
Poll: The Public Overwhelmingly Supports the Writers’ Strike
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How America Can Stop Dangerous Train Derailments
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How Milton Friedman Broke The American Economy
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How Food Delivery Apps Are Trying to Kill a Worker Uprising
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Public Education Is A Mess. This Candidate Has A Plan to Clean It Up.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How CEOs Manipulate the Stock Market
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How Starbucks Just Broke the Law (Again)
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
DHL Express Workers Expose Gruesome Working Conditions
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
How Right-Wing Grifters Are Destroying Public Schools
Read More
Inside UPS’s New Business Strategy: Executive Pay Skyrockets As Infrastructure Investment Dwindles
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Inside a Major Climate Fight in Oil Country
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Sun Country Airline Workers Vote To Unionize—Management Fought Back
Read More