Landmark health reform bill passes Senate - South Florida Business Journal:

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Also winning passage on Thursdayy was a the creation of a statde agency charged with improving the delivery of healthg care across the The “Healthy Kids — Healthy Oregon” bill, which will increase taxea on hospitals and health insurers by $150 million per marks a major victor y for Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who proposedx the measure. It faced fierce opposition by hospital who were pacified when their proposefd tax hikewas moderated. Insurers still maintain that the measure will increase the cost of health coverage for thousandsdof Oregonians, by adding a 1 percent premium to the cost of commerciaol health insurance.
By raising additional funds, the state will receivwe $500 million in unclaimed federal health care dollars. The second bill, which allocates two-year funding of $3 millionm from the state’s general fund, createa the Oregon Health Authority to oversee existing stat e programs that touch on health The new state agency is charged with establishin health industry cost control measures and with promotiny health care reform at anationak level. Both bills now head to the governot forhis signature.