You are among a growing group of Oregonians who understand that alongside efforts to increase the number of Oregonians who have access to health insurance we must have a public debate about what we are buying with our health care dollars and how the delivery system is structured. Without this, we will not solve this growing crisis. We can do better.

The turmoil in our financial markets has dominated the conversations within the capital. Because of even more scarce dollars looking forward, we must have a system that gives us only the best return on investment in terms of population health for the estimated $19.4 billion spent in Oregon alone on health care.

Let your legislators know that you understand the issues, and are willing to discuss the necessary tradeoffs, because you believe we can find innovative solutions to the most difficult problems. Please continue the dialog with them beyond our lobby day.