Oregon is doing a lot right when it comes to healthcare. Our insurance coverage is better than most of the nation, and the quality of that coverage is good and keeps improving. But we have issues with access to care, especially in three key areas: mental health, addiction services, and primary care.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted places where our healthcare system was already stressed. We need to address these shortcomings in access to care and coordinated response.

Oregon ranks 46th in the nation for mental health care. And that’s on average; the situation gets much worse for certain communities, like children and young people in rural areas. We need to invest in our providers to improve recruitment and retention, and make sure the broad range of mental health services needed are available and integrated into the rest of our patient care.

More on mental health…

Drug addiction is a public health issue. It’s good that we’re starting to recognize it as such, but in rural areas like District 31, we’re way behind on treatment options. This means most people won’t get the help they need, which leads to worse health, increased crime, and increased homelessness. We need to continue to expand treatment options state wide, especially meeting the obligations in Measure 110, with a focus on accessibility in rural areas.

Our coverage for primary care is good — but that doesn’t help if you can’t get in to see a provider. There is a nation-wide shortage of primary care providers, and that shortage hits rural communities like ours especially hard.

While parts of the nation-wide problem need to be solved at a national level, the state has several tools it can use to improve the situation for people here. We should be making more use of those tools than we are today.

More on primary care…

Abortion is healthcare. And across the country, it’s under attack. Anti-abortion bills are introduced to the legislature every year. We need to defend the progress we’ve made while continuing to improve access. Abortion rights are very much on the ballot this year, and we must send legislators to Salem who’ll work to defend these rights.