Ore. Rep. Diehl asks that oregon Healthcare be deregulated
Oregon Representative Diehl says Oregon healthcare system is broken, needing radical change
Here is Representative Ed Diehl's written argument for redirecting Oregon healthcare towards a system of wide healthcare access, rather than the current system that says you are covered but then underpays healthcare service providers, causing them to go belly up - causing long waiting lines for getting healthcare services:
Rep. Diehl: Universal Access, Not Universal Coverage | Oregon Catalyst
I have this wild thought, sometimes, that the federal government should allow Mexican and other embassies in the U.S to offer medical services. I know of several U.S residents who are already flying down to Mexico from Portland Oregon in order to get dental work done, because Mexico dentistry tends to be much less expensive than U.S dentists.
(posted by Elvis Clark on October 25, 2025)
Tylenol, pregnant women controversy
Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), Trump alerts pregnant women not to take Tylenol - Autism link?
Geez, there sure is a lot of suspect news going on about Tylenol, spurred by President Trump's recommendation to pregnant women and young babies to avoid taking Tylenol, because of a supposed link to autism.
I hear the prominent radio talk show host, Lars Larson, say that Tylenol's manufacturer back in 2017 investigates Tylenol's risks for pregnant women. So, I check Google's AI summary for this assertion, screenshot in black frame just above, and it turns out Larson seems to be taking what Tylenol's manufacture says, back in 2017, out of context, because what the manufacturer is actually telling pregnant women back in 2017 is to consult their doctors before taking any of its over-the-counter medications.
And then there is yesterday. I am among conservatives in a gathering, and the leader of the gathering says that some pregnant women, to spite Trump, have over-dosed on Tylenol and ended up in a coma. Scott Adams, a prominent author and realist, says these rumors are generally not true, or exaggerated. I tend to believe Adams more than my local conservative leader's Tylenol statement made yesterday.
I would note, based on my own personal use of Tylenol to kill the pain in my aching feet when going to sleep, that some variants of Tylenol seem to have a slight loopiness effect on me the following morning. So, there does seem to be some short duration aftereffects on one's brain, or at least in my case. But I still take Tylenol to reduce some foot pain.
So, there could be a link to autism and pregnant women's use of Tylenol, based on my own personal use of Tylenol, but I doubt that President Trump and his Healthcare Secretary (RFK) have a corner on the truth about the risks of Tylenol with respect to autism.
Trump needs to generally exercise some humility since he has gained the presidency and is not up for re-election (termed out of the presidency in 3 plus years). This is it for him, and so, why not round out his public character by adding in some humbleness - admitting to unavoidable uncertainties such as in the case of Tylenol.
(posted by Elvis Clark on September 28, 2025)
Providence hospitals bleed red ink in oregon
Try not to get sick in the remainder of your life. Oregon's Health system teeters towards rationing
It is reported in the Willamette Week that in the first quarter of this year, the conglomerate non-profit Providence Hospital system lost over $250 million. Over the last five years, Providence's cash on hand has dropped by over half.
Here's the Willamette Week reporting on Providence's financial deterioration:
In Oregon, Providence Lost a Quarter-Billion Dollars in Three Months. That’s Not Even the Bad News.
The nurses strike earlier this year cost Providence much higher labor costs, with nurses getting over 20% in raises over a two-year period. So, Unions and Oregon government's control over healthcare is spinning huge losses for Oregon hospitals. Unsurprisingly, Providence is now laying off nurses and not filling open vacant positions.
Providence is indicative of other hospitals in Oregon, notably OHSU is also losing money steadily.
And to make things worse, the Federal Government is scaling back the Medicaid dollars that had floated Oregon's increasingly socialized health care system. The Federal government itself is under financial stress with its ballooning indebtedness. Something has to give.
It isn't hard to imagine health care in socialist Oregon becoming rationed very soon.
(posted by Elvis Clark on September 19, 2025)
Oregon providence hospitals bleed red ink
Oregon's health care system is a looming mess with over regulation and labor strife
Here's the Lund report on the financial challenges currently being fought by Providence hospitals in Oregon:
Providence reports major losses in Oregon as new cuts emerge | The Lund Report
After nurses win a wage increases this last year, now Providence is having to layoff over 100 nurses and other staff because of its financial troubles.
Oregon's health care cabal depends heavily on federal funding. But the federal government itself is running huge financial deficits and is starting to rein its federal funding of state healthcare systems, including Oregon's healthcare safety net.
The one saving grace may turn out to be evolving artificial intelligence in reducing the need for some general practitioner doctors and assistants. More Telehealth could take the burden off of high end hospital staffing.
(posted by Elvis Clark on August 24, 2025)
SEnate bill 1003 allows hospitals to end peoples' lives
Above is my testimony opposing Oregon Senate Bill 1003
Oregon government is so warped it calls Senate bill 1003 "Death with Dignity" when it will actually result in hospitals wanting to save money by encouraging those on the edge of life to end life more immediately than maybe what's best for the patient.
You can submit testimony, as I do in the red framed panel above, concerning SB 1003 to Oregon legislators by going to this link:
SB1003 2025 Regular Session - Oregon Legislative Information System
(posted by Elvis Clark on June 1, 2025)
Oregon health Authority wants a third of the state's surplus
For the current year, the state of Oregon forecasts it will end up with a $664 million surplus
But the Oregon Health Authority is wanting an extra $260 million from the state of Oregon to provide expanded medical care coverage to the poor. But at the same time, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is needing more tax money to serve all those who are poor enough to meet federal guidelines to enter Medicaid, the state is to receive upwards of $1 billion from the federal government in the form of rental assistance and utility bill assistance.
That OHA is in a financial hole because so many more Oregonians qualify as poor, kind of signals that the state is a relatively poor state compared to other states.
You would think that OHA could transfer some of its funding to meet its $260 million shortage for serving more poor Oregonians with some of the $1 billion the federal government is providing Oregon Medicaid patients for keeping them in their homes.
If the federal government should ever become frugal and have to cut its Medical care support, Oregonians are going suffer greatly from the state's over dependence on federal transfer monies.
Here's the two links to the two related OHA funding reports:
Under federal $1 billion agreement, Oregon will expand Medicaid coverage - oregonlive.com
Unexpected signups fuel $260 million budget hole at Oregon Health Authority | The Lund Report
(posted by Elvis Clark on October 25, 2024)
Expanding Tele-health across state lines - may be needed
Increasingly, the Oregon Health Authority is taking over Health Care for Oregonians -this is a worry
Federal Telehealth law runs only through the end of this year 2024 and seems limited to only Medicare patients. The Federal Telehealth law was enacted in 2020 at the behest of then President Trump, providing healthcare choice during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Oregon law seems to limit telehealth to those just visiting the state.
But given the increasing domination of the Oregon Health Authority over most all healthcare provision in Oregon, there should be ways for Oregonians to seek out healthcare outside of OHA's oversight. Shouldn't Oregonians have the right to private healthcare, since public healthcare can and has become rationed at times or with long wait times?
If Oregonians want to improve their individual freedom, telehealth beyond borders - without a lot of strings attached - is one way to ensure their access to private healthcare services. Telehealth is long distance care through information technology such as computer and internet or just plain phone - tapping healthcare providers across state lines. As such, Telehealth could provide Oregonians with a way around the state healthcare bureaucracy.
I am thinking of making this part of my campaign message for Oregon House District 41.
The acronyms FQHC and RHC, in the red outlined panel above, stand for Federally Qualified Healthcare provider and Regional Health Care provider, respectively.
(posted by Elvis Clark on March 29, 2024)