Oregon voters are going to be busy ...

The article below describes the 7 initiatives voters in Oregon will get to vote on in November. Health care activists in the state are quite active indeed. Let's hope that kind of acitivity builds here in Illinois soon.

Learn about medical initiatives
By BILL KETTLER
Mail Tribune

You probably think you have better things to do Sunday afternoon than listen to people talk about Oregon's health care system, but you're unlikely to get a better opportunity to learn about seven medical initiatives that could be on the November ballot.

Sponsors and supporters of each of the initiatives will gather at Medford's First United Methodist Church, 607 W. Main St., to explain how each proposal would address specific shortcomings in Oregon's health care system. The two-hour program begins at 4 p.m.

The sheer number of health-related initiatives indicates how broken Oregon's health system really is, said Maribeth Healey, executive director of Oregonians for Health Security. The Portland-based nonprofit organized the Medford program as part of a series of presentations around Oregon this spring.

"Oregonians are saying, 'Enough is enough,' " Healey said. "We have to do something about the health care crisis.

"They're not exactly clear on what they want done, but clearly the Legislature is the place to do it," she said. "Nothing's going to happen in Washington D.C. very fast."

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