Oregon is known for its leadership on many difficult issues associated with health care policy and reform. We are proud to be part of this community. OHSU supports the goal of developing and passing a plan for health care reform for Oregon. We present the following statement of principles as part of health care reform discussions.

Eight Essential Principles for Health Care Reform

1. Supports universal access to a defined set of health care services for all children and adults that is paid for in ways that are not exclusively linked to employment.
   
   
2. Believes that a defined set of health care services in a universal access framework should include all health services that are demonstrably beneficial, including tertiary and quaternary health care, in order to guarantee equal access to care and to prevent continuation of inequities in the current system which ties care delivery to economic status.
   
   
3. Believes that a geographically well-distributed health care workforce, accurately mirroring in capacity and diversity the population it serves, is critical to ensuring long-term quality and access in Oregon. Funding for recruiting, educating and keeping workforce skills current is also critical. Further, health care reform must find ways to utilize all providers to the full benefit/extent of their education and training.
   
   
4. Supports an aggressive focus on preventive health care to both improve quality and reduce costs, including promotion of and reward for healthy lifestyles.
   
   
5. Believes that the long-term viability of universal access will depend on the full and equitable participation of all health care providers and systems (the opting out by a provider or health care system should not disadvantage those electing to participate).
   
   
6. Supports a compassionate evaluation of end-of-life care and the adoption of health care delivery models that support end-of-life decision-making and options for patients and families.
   
   
7. Believes that quality health care is linked to outcomes transparency and that incremental improvements in standards of care require support for both evidence-based practices and mechanisms to incorporate real-time outcomes feedback in quality initiatives. However, leaps in health care quality and outcomes are also a result of discovery and innovation, and a reform proposal must find ways to reward and adopt innovations and discoveries.
   
   
8. Supports more effective deployment of information technology, including but not limited to portable electronic health care records.
   
   

Adopted 2008