Tualatin, Tigard folks speak out on health care reform

Everybody agrees that something must be done – the question is, ‘What?’

By Christina Cooke

The Times, Sep 3, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jaime Valdez / The Times

CARING – Dr. David Nazemi, a “hospitalist” at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Tualatin, checks the vital signs of patient Sue Badiei on Wednesday morning.

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With the cost of health insurance skyrocketing and nearly 46 million Americans – including about 600,000 Oregonians – uninsured, most people recognize something must be done about the healthcare system as it stands. But nobody can agree on what.

Many lawmakers agree they need to rein in private insurance companies that charge higher premiums or deny coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions. They agree on the need to expand health coverage to more people, especially those who cannot currently afford it.

They differ, however, on whether the government should offer a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers and how to pay for the changes.

As lawmakers gear up to tackle health care reform this fall, residents of Tigard and Tualatin go about business as usual.

The Times spoke with a cross-section of the community – with hospital patients, healthcare providers, people without insurance, small business owners and senior citizens – about how the current system is working for them and what they’d like to see changed.

Here’s what they had to say.

Dr. David Nazemi

Age: 36

Situation: A physician at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, Nazemi cares for an increasing number of uninsured patients. While he provides the same level of care for every patient, regardless of whether they have health insurance, he said patients without insurance often face problems once they’re discharged.

In his words: “We improve their health when they’re in the hospital, but after we release them, if they don’t have insurance, they often don’t have the money to buy medications or seek follow-up care. They get sick again, and they’re readmitted to the hospital. That scenario could be vastly improved. You can save money if you can provide that after-hospital care they need.

“The current health care system is not sustainable for patients, providers or hospitals… We want a plan that offers universal health care to everybody, is financially sustainable and offers reimbursement to providers and hospitals that’s free and equitable.”

Lommie Escobar

Age: 45

Situation: Escobar was recently laid off from his job as a metal fabrication assistant. The Tigard resident worries when he’s unemployed, because he does not have insurance and cannot afford to purchase the inhalers he needs to manage his asthma.

In his words: “When I have a job, I get insured by my company, and I don’t worry. But now I’m in the position where I’m like, ‘Now what?’

“Children are easy – they get covered if they’re low-income. Low-income adults need to get on (health care assistance plans) too. They’ve got to do something for those who can’t afford it.”

Sydney Webb

Age: 63

Situation: Webb serves on Tigard City Council and works as executive director of the Good Neighbor Center homeless shelter on Greenburg Road. She said she and the other staff members often have to advise uninsured shelter residents who can’t afford a regular doctor to visit the emergency room if they’re sick.

In her words: “They use our most expensive services for things as simple as bad earaches or bad toothaches, because that’s the only way they can get help. The cost of people who can’t pay using our most expensive resources is what’s driving up the cost.

“Some kind of reform has got to take place, at least a program that’s available as an option to people who can’t get (health insurance) any place else. There needs to be something there, whether it’s the government or somebody else.”

Paul Ward

Age: 34

Situation: Ward moved his multimedia development company, Media Mechanic LLC, from Michigan to Tualatin in June and is in the process of hiring three graphic designers and figuring out what benefits to offer them. He’s finding the average health care plan will cost him $400 a month per employee – and $800 to $1,000 a month if he offers family coverage as well. With rates as they are, he said, the cost of offering health care to his employees will be second only to salaries in the overhead for his shop.

In his words: “The bottom line is, we would love to offer health care, because we feel it’s a moral imperative. These people are working for us, and we need to take care of them. But we’re not running charities; we’re running businesses.

“The majority of the small business owners I’ve been talking to overwhelmingly support some sort of government option, because it gets it off our books entirely.

“The stuff on the hill, is it perfect? No. I don’t see enough cost control measures. But I do see the public option is a significant one.”