On Thursday, June 11th, the Senate passed HB 2009 and HB 2116. Together, these bills expand healthcare coverage to 115,000 Oregonians. These bills will allow the Oregon Health Plan to cover an additional 80,000 uninsured children and 35,000 more adults. With passage of this important legislation, 95 percent of Oregon children will be covered. Additionally, it is estimated that this expansion of healthcare will create approximately 3,600 jobs.
 
HB 2009 will improve and streamline healthcare administration by creating the Oregon Health Policy Board. HB 2116 is a health provider tax and provides a funding mechanism for HB 2009. The provider tax charges a fee to health providers which will be matched by $2 billion in federal funds. I strongly supported these bills because they are an important step in providing healthcare for every citizen.

 

On June 8th, the Senate Passed Senate Bill 519. Which prevents employers from retaliating against employees who choose not to attend religious or political meetings sponsored by the employer. The bill does not prevent companies from sponsoring these meetings or prevent employees from attending. Instead, it only bars religious or political meetings from being mandatory. The bill provides an exception for religious and political groups. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. 

Wednesday, June 10th, the Senate voted in favor of House Bill 2839, which corrects problems in Oregon's domestic partnership laws. HB 2839 simplifies the process for partners to change their name. The bill also corrects a loophole in Oregon law that prevented a couple with a domestic partnership in another state from also having a domestic partnership in Oregon. Finally, the bill also clarifies longstanding Oregon law that allows domestic partners to claim certain tax benefits related to healthcare. I was a strong supporter of the 2007 session's domestic partnership bill and I am proud to have carried HB 2839 on the floor of the Senate.  

 

On June 3rd, the Senate voted in favor of House Bill 2794. This bill requires health insurance companies to cover the vaccinations for the HPV virus. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the country and is a leading cause of cervical cancer. It is estimated that routine vaccinations against HPV would prevent 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. This bill does not require vaccination but it does make insurance providers cover the treatment if an individual wishes to be vaccinated. HB 2794 was a priority for the Women's Health and Wellness Alliance, of which I am a member. The House concurred with the Senate's amendments on June 4th and the bill is now awaiting the Governor's signature.