If some Oregonians concerned about health care have their way, they will be sitting down and talking with President Obama about how to change the American health care system right here in Oregon. An invitation from Oregonians concerned about health care was sent to President Obama inviting him to visit Oregon and hear about the efforts taking place here to create a better system of health for the citizens of America.
More than 2,200 individuals and fifty organizations signed onto a letter inviting President Obama to hear heir thoughts about health care policy and to gain a greater understanding of the extensive health care ngagement process that has taken place. The letter was sent through the Archimedes Movement, a rassroots health reform organization founded by former Governor John Kitzhaber, a medical doctor.
The invitation advocates that America and the Obama Administration squarely confront the real health are policy issues. “We cannot control rising health care costs unless we fundamentally shift our goal from inancing health care to improving the health of the American people,” the letter reads.
The Oregonians represented by the letter see the health care crisis as being more complex than simply roviding coverage and believe that we must debate what we are buying and how the delivery system for ealth care is structured to achieve meaningful gains in the health of Americans. One of the most important restructuring efforts would be to increase the systems focus on prevention and access to primary care for all itizens.
“Universal Coverage is important but unless that coverage results in better health and comes at a cost hat does not bankrupt the nation, we will not have fulfilled our obligation to the future. We can do better,” he letter of invitation reads.
At the beginning of the President Clinton’s first term, he came to Oregon and held a federal forest summit ocused on providing national leadership to resolve economic and environmental conflicts on national forest ands. Oregon may again find itself host to a new President, and again on the cutting edge of helping stablish national policy.
# # #
Attached below is the letter to President Obama.
