Where We Stand
Section: Health Care Access
Policy: Universal Healthcare and Health Coverage

Universal Healthcare and Health Coverage

1. The OMA adopts the following policy statements:
   
   Universal Healthcare and Health Coverage
   
   All Oregonians should have healthcare that addresses the most important causes of death and disease, including health promotion measures, disease prevention, acute and chronic treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care. Oregonians, through their elected officials, and with the guidance of their physicians, should determine the extent and quality of healthcare goods and services available to all, consistent with the combined goals of improving individual and community health.
   
   Patients with health insurance have improved access to healthcare goods and services and better health outcomes. Health coverage should be readily identifiable, consistent across communities and populations, affordable, and portable, allowing patients to access care regardless of personal circumstance or employment. Oregonians, through their elected officials, should establish sustainable healthcare financing, administration, and payment systems that limit patient financial hardship and uncertainty, and support the physician practice of medicine.
   
   
2. The OMA adopts the following principles regarding Universal Healthcare and Health Coverage:
   
   Health and Healthcare
   
   
   1. Individual health and longevity result from a combination of genetics, personal history and habits, culture, access to healthcare, education, and social and economic status (Social and economic determinants of health).
   
   
   2. The patient and society share responsibility for addressing the social and economic determinants of health, and hence, share responsibility for individual health outcomes.
   
   
   3. Society benefits from a healthy population: Individuals with dependable access to physical and mental healthcare live longer lives that are more productive.
   
   
   4. Society should ensure access to timely, effective and affordable care for mental and physical health problems.
   
   
   5. Society should regulate and reform the healthcare system through a public and transparent process that reflects a consensus of social values and balances the needs of the individual and the community.
   
   Healthcare and Health Coverage
   
   
   6. All members of society should have health coverage that provides access to effective acute and chronic treatment of mental and physical illness, disease and injury (Universal Health Coverage).
   
   
   7. Society should prioritize coverage for healthcare services as necessary, using the best available medical evidence of efficacy and benefit in an effort to maximize individual and population health.
   
   
   8. Physicians, as stewards of the healthcare system, should provide ethical, evidence-based, cost effective medical care that respects the values of the patient and society.
   
   
   9. Financing for Universal Health Coverage is a shared public and private responsibility.
   
   
   10. Health coverage financing must be economically feasible, explicit, and sustainable.
   
   
   11. The structure and financing of the healthcare system should minimize individual patient responsibility for the cost of medical treatment; excess personal cost is a barrier to timely medical care and decreases health outcomes.
   
   
   12. The structure and financing of the healthcare system should minimize the personal stress associated with the cost of treatment, delinquent medical bills, and potential bankruptcy; financial hardship and economic stress diminish life expectancy.
   
   
   13. The structure and financing of the healthcare system should allow individuals the freedom to purchase additional services or insurance.
   
   Administration of Healthcare and Health Coverage
   
   
   14. The patient and their personal physician, working together, should make decisions on the most appropriate medical treatment or intervention for a given health condition.
   
   
   15. The healthcare system must ensure a sufficient network of services and providers to improve patient health.
   
   
   16. Health coverage and benefits should be standardized, predictable, and readily identifiable by patients and providers.
   
   
   17. Simplification of healthcare administration and management reduces costs, enhances patient access to treatment, and improves the practice of Medicine.
   
   
   18. Healthcare coverage should be portable, consistent, and persistent, minimizing administrative delays in accessing medical care.
   
   
   19. Charges and payments for medical care at all levels should be predictable, transparent, and readily identifiable by patients and providers.
   
   
   Healthcare Workforce
   
   
   20. Physician-led healthcare provides the best patient outcomes.
   
   
   21. The structure and financing of the healthcare system should encourage continued physician development and participation, thereby ensuring an adequate network of care.
   
   
   22. The Medical Tort (Malpractice, Liability) System should provide predictable compensation to individuals harmed by negligent medical care through an efficient process that promotes continuous quality improvement and patient safety.
   
   
   
3. The OMA does not adopt the referred policy resolutions:
   a. Resolution No. 3 – The Provision of Universal Health Care (2018)
   b. Resolution No. 5 – Single Payer Healthcare (2017)
   c. Resolution No. 7 – Universal Access to Healthcare in Oregon (2016)



4. The OMA sunsets the following provisions in Where We Stand, to be replaced with content within the Universal Healthcare and Health Coverage principles:
a. Access to Health Care in Oregon statement and subsequent principles  (Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 2007; revised at the annual House of Delegates, 2009; sunset by the Board of Trustees, June 2018), 
b. Universal Coverage (Reaffirmed at the interim House of Delegates, 2004; sunset by the Board of Trustees, June 2018)