Oregon Governor Kulongoski Urges Action on Health Care Expansion

Federal recovery dollars help local clinics; governor calls for passage of legislation to expand care for all kids and more low-income adults across Oregon

April 20, 2009 -- (Salem) - Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski today traveled to Lane and Jackson Counties to highlight the use of federal stimulus dollars to help community health centers expand access to health care and urged the state legislature to expand access to health care for all kids and thousands of low-income adults.

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The Governor’s proposal before the legislature captures the 2 to 1 match in federal dollars, securing $1 billion in matching funds, to expand health care coverage to all uninsured children in Oregon and 75,000 more uninsured low-income adults.

“The demand for health care is only increasing as we weather this economic recession, making it more important than ever that the state help make health care affordable and accessible to all Oregonians,” said Governor Ted Kulongoski. “My proposal before the legislature is a first step, providing access to health care coverage to all of Oregon’s children and expanding coverage to thousands more adults.”

The Governor’s first stop was to RiverStone Health Center of Lane County in Springfield. The Clinic was awarded $293,588 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to preserve or create jobs in order to meet the increasing demand for services. These funds will allow the clinic to add 9.5 full time employees over the next two years.

The Governor’s second stop was to Community Health Center, Inc. in Medford. The clinic was awarded $262,363 to support the retention of 5 full time employees, hire 3 new full time employees and provide an estimated 7,358 primary care visits for more than 1900 individuals in the Medford area.

“These federal dollars come at a crucial time for Oregon as demand for basic health care is growing in communities across the state,” the Governor continued. “The opportunity is now ours at the state level. There is more than one billion dollars in federal funds already approved for health care in Oregon. We can’t afford to leave this money on the table in Washington, D.C.”

The Governor continued to make the economic argument for investing in health care, citing that for every $1 billion invested in health care, more than 6100 permanent jobs are created across the state.

Source: Oregon Governor