Without this vote, Senate bill 99 will not have the procedures enacted to set up the state health care exchanges.
Senate Bill 99 will create a government regulated and subsidized health insurance marketplace called an exchange to make coverage affordable and mandatory in accordance with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which also provides funding for the Health Care Exchange.

The nay votes are asking to add pork-barrel legislation that asks for increased access to our states natural resources to provide jobs in the state. While we do agree that jobs should be a priority in state legislature, these requests have nothing to do with the issue at hand which will provide competitive pricing for many of Oregonians looking to finally get access to health care insurance.

Please continue to look for job creation in separate bills while allowing Oregon’s citizens a chance to get fair competition involved in the pricing of its insurance options.