This week I attended two meetings, -the Federal Laws committee met on Tuesday, April 22, and the Oregon Health Fund Board met on Thursday, April 24th. I'd like to give a few snippets of information from each meeting that caught my attention.

At our Federal Laws meeting we heard presentations on health care providers/ workforce shortages and on the Indian Health System.

Based on current trends, Oregon needs approximately 322 new physicians each year. Yet only approx. 200 residents complete their training each year in Oregon. Those who elect to stay in Oregon, along with physicians moving into the state, result in a new provider shortfall that is mirrored in nursing and other health care provider professions. It was pointed out that part of the difficulty Massachusetts is now facing with its universal coverage plan stems from giving 340,000 uninsured residents coverage, but having no increase in care providers, causing corresponding doubling of wait times for care.

The Indian Health System demonstrates the unique position that the Indian tribes hold in relationship to the Federal government. The relationship of the federal government with the Indian tribes is referred to as "Federal Trust Responsibility" and has its origin in the Constitution and in early court cases and treaties. Part of its origin is acknowledgement of the cession of over 400 million acres of Indian tribal land in this country. Because of the supremacy of federal law over state law when it comes to providing Indian health services, our Federal Laws committee must be aware of "Federal Trust Responsibility" guidelines pertaining to Oregon's Indian population.

On Thursday, April 24th, the Oregon Health Fund Board met in Portland. Among other topics, they received updated progress reports from each of the six committees, and from the exchange work group. (I encourage anyone who has the time to attend one of the committee meetings to try to do so. As the committees get close to wrapping up their work, it is very interesting to observe the final discussions of their recommendations.)

Part of the OHFB meeting was spent learning about the community meetings developed for the Board by NW Health Foundation, Oregon Health Decisions, and Oregon Health Forum. Not intended to be educational meetings, they are designed to elicit the values that Oregonians hold regarding health care. There are 13 of these meetings scheduled around the state beginning on May 1st, and the Portland meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 10th at Ainsworth United Church of Christ at 7 pm. Visit www.healthforum.org for more information and to view a 30 second video made by two members of the Board, encouraging the public to attend.