Oregon Health Plan in the News

When the prioritized list that is used for the Oregon Health Plan was first unveiled, Oregon’s health care system made world news. Now, with the announcement that the state will be using a “health care lottery” to determine who gets covered when OHP reopens, Oregon is again on the national - and international - radar. And not all of the press is positive.

A segment called "Pick Sicks" that recently aired on Comedy Central's Colbert Report lampooned the OHP lottery. Even though his description of the situation is delivered in a humorous, "tongue-in-cheek" manner, the topic is a serious one. 

Understanding that there are limited funds in the current system and that the federal government does not allow sicker or higher risk people to be moved to the front of the line, is a lottery the best way to get eligible people covered?  What do you think about Oregon being the first state to try using a lottery for health care? 

Comments

[jen]

There are 300,000 marijuana smokers in the State of Oregon. If each one paid the State $150 for a Personal Use license to grow their own marijuana the State would make $45,000,000. That almost completely funds the Healthy Kids Act.

If the State also offered commercial marijuana production licensure at $1,000 and commercial sales licensure ate $2,000 and allowed sales to licensed individuals, the rest of the State could have health insurance, even the 10% that incur the most health costs.

Not to mention the savings in court, police, and drug prevention dollars that would be saved.

Right now, 67% of drug prevention clients are court-referred for nothing but marijuana, while people with meth problems sit on waiting lists for two years. It is time to focus our efforts on the tough cases. Eliminating court-referral for marijuana would drastically reduce the workload for caseworkers and open up treatment slots for serious addicts.

It's a win-win for everyone except the dealers who make inflated profits from the Prohibition of marijuana.

[Strange Brew]

I'll smoke out with you jen- I like getting so HIGGHHHH.

[Mel's Diner open at 420]

All of this talk of WEED is making me turning me into a scheming jones. Anybody holding any of the friendly green?

[Obtuse Word]

Big Pharma Sells Happiness to America

Americans are now buying their happiness in pill form. Big Pharma is recklessly pushing anti-depression drugs onto the American public. The pharmaceutical industry has been financially influencing members of the government and using misleading advertising campaigns in order to get their psychiatric drugs approved for public consumption without proper clinical trials. They are even trying to prescribe lithium to treate Marijuana addiction.

Read more at:

http://obtuseword.blogspot.com/2008/05/big-pharma-sells-happiness-to-america.html

[If You can dream it you can do it]

I don't appreciate your comments about Pills Obtuse. On friday nights I really enjoy popping a couple of hyrochordones, downing a few beers and getting nice and lit. then I smoke out until I fall asleep. I'm living the deam- why would you hate on me for that? jerk.

[jen]

Part of the problem is that we have too many people taking massive amounts of pharmaceutical drugs, sometimes with no idea what they are for. Patients with multiple doctors are often prescribe medications that are contraindicated because care is not properly co-ordinated.

Many drug interactons are only discovered AFTER a drug has been unleashed on an unsuspecting public and medical establishment, resulting in the many "Black Box" warnings we have been seeing in recent years, and deaths like that of Heath Ledger.

If a drug causes Heart attack or stroke, it should not be approved by the FDA. Yet all of the nsaids are appropved for medical use and all of them carry these risks. And we constantly see ads on TV for drugs that have these side effects.