Joe Stroud is one of our leaders at PUMC. Before his retirement in 2003 he was teacher/mentor/preacher for over 30 years in Japan through the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries. Joe and his wife Keiko retired to Portland and promptly ran into the brick wall of our country’s disjointed, falling apart health care system.  Since then Joe has been active with the health care reform action team of the Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good (MACG).  Below is a note from Joe on progress our Oregon legislators have made toward reform.         Pastor Bill

The Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good was one of several allied organizations instrumental in the passage of House Bills 2009 and 2116. However, as Rep. Mitch Greenlich, one of the strongest proponents pushing the legislation put it, “This is not the beginning of the end; it is the end of the beginning.” In other words, passage of the legislation was one thing, implementing it is quite another.

HB2116 itself is the legislation which creates revenue to match federal funding for expansion of the Oregon Health Plan to cover uninsured children and low-income adults. It is HB2009 which spells out health reform itself. Implementation of that reform has just begun. The bill establishes an Oregon Health Authority (OHA) as well as a nine-member Oregon Health Policy Board (OHPB). Staffing and the appointive process has begun, but fleshing out the legislation will take time. One question MACG and others are asking is, How will children in need of coverage be registered? 

This may be a great opportunity for the church to help connect those within our congregation and community to affordable health care. But we, as individuals, and as a church, need to acquaint ourselves with this new program so we can respond.

I will continue to invest my time necessary to play a part in insuring that this legislation reaches fruition and consequently provides help for members of our community. I hope you will, too.  Joe Stroud