We are currently three weeks into the short session, here is an update on what we've been working on!

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Short Session Newsletter
In This Update:
* Priority Healthcare Bills
* Willamette Falls Locks
* Abernathy Bridge/205 Update
* A Typical Day at the Capitol

Hello friends and neighbors,

I'm writing to you from my office in the Capitol to update you on some short session news. I’m happy to have had many visits from constituents and organizations discussing bills being debated this session.

The short session allows Representatives to introduce two bills, and I’m excited to report both of my priority bills passed the house healthcare committee unanimously; with one moving to ways and means and one on the way to the Senate. I'm also co-chief sponsor of a bill to save the Willamette Falls Locks and working hard to fund the Abernathy Bridge and the 205.


** HB 4101 ([link removed]) - Telehealth Equity Act
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Status: Passed Health Care and Currently awaiting a hearing in Ways and Means.

Health care providers treating Oregon’s Medicaid and underserved populations lack predictability in coverage policies to utilize virtual care within their practices. While Oregon has modernized policies in previous sessions (2015 & 2017) for commercial payers and patients, Medicaid and underserved populations were left behind, leading to disparity between providers treating Oregon’s vulnerable population on Medicaid and providers delivering care for commercially insured patients. Oregon must close this health equity gap for patients in rural and underserved communities throughout the state.


** HB 4102 ([link removed]) : Utilization Management Transparency Act
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Status: Passed off House floor yesterday and heading to the Senate

As a primary care provider to the homebound community in our district, I can sometimes get my patients what they need, but there are also times where I experience unnecessary administrative burdens which have led to complications and hospitalizations.

Utilization Management protocols, such as prior authorization (PA) and step therapy (ST), are important cost-containment and quality assurance tools employed by health insurers, but they often result in higher levels of administrative burden and can contribute to delayed treatment and negative patient outcomes.

Prior authorization requires medical offices to ask permission from a patient’s insurance company before performing certain medical procedures or prescribing certain medications; Step Therapy protocols require patients to try, and fail, certain therapies before qualifying for others. This legislation seeks to ensure that if commercial payers employ such cost-containment programs, the process should be transparent, efficient, and fair.


** HB 4150 ([link removed]) - Willamette Falls Locks
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Status: Passed off House floor yesterday and heading to the Senate

Passing this bill is the first step in charting the future course of the Locks for the next 150 years! The Locks are a regional asset, and if the legislature does not act this session the Army Corps of Engineers will close them and our community would lose the locks forever. The Willamette Falls Locks Commission worked diligently to create a Public Corporation to take ownership of the Locks and I'm happy to announce HB 4150 passed on the house floor today and will create a public corporation that will own, operate, repair, and maintain the Willamette Falls Locks.

The area at Willamette Falls is a unique and beautiful place of cultural and historical importance, with potential for economic development and recreational opportunities for our communities. The state is investing in public access to the falls at the Legacy Project across the river on the Oregon City side and we are close to achieving the second National Heritage Area designation on the west coast.

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** Abernathy Bridge/205 Update
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During the interim I hosted Transportation Town Halls in both Clackamas and Washington County; inviting local leaders to join in discussing transportation issues affecting our communities and giving constituents an opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns. It was very apparent early in conversation that the issue of tolling the I205 was on the forefront of everyone's mind. This concern has been a continuous conversation and we have heard from countless constituents looking for a solution.
How did we get here? In 2017 the Legislature passed a transportation package with the goal of increasing funding for much needed transportation projects throughout the state. Unfortunately, the I-205 Widening and Seismic Improvements Project was cut from the package. Now ODOT believes they were directed by the Legislature to look into tolling as an option to fill the funding gap for the project. I am not supportive of ODOTs current tolling plan.

The I-205 Widening and Seismic Improvements Project, which would address bottleneck congestion, add rapid bus transit, and make the Abernethy Bridge earthquake-ready, is nearly ‘shovel-ready.’ Per ODOT, I-205 would likely be used as part of the traffic diversion plan when the Rose Quarter is under construction. If I-205 is not improved prior to this work, the added congestion in the bottleneck will lead to even more traffic diversion into communities and their local roads, thereby decreasing safety and increasing costs to those jurisdictions to maintain their infrastructure.

Currently, the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is earmarked for state bond funding, yet the project is years away from being ‘construction-ready’. A proposed Environmental Impact Statement, coupled with public concern about equity and climate impacts, could push the project back even further.

This session I have proposed a solution and have submitted an amendment that would reallocate the HB 2017 funds dedicated to the Rose Quarter Project to pay for the Abernethy Bridge and I-205 Project; prioritizing funding for a project of statewide significance that is ready to go. This would not increase new funding or take away from other projects that are already planned and contracted out by ODOT. It makes prudent fiscal sense to reprioritize state investments to ‘construction-ready’ projects. Changing the bonding allocation ensures ODOT the opportunity to be deliberate in their planning to address the equity and environmental concerns at the Rose Quarter while saving money, creating jobs, and investing in much needed infrastructure. We submitted a letter of support requesting the amendment get scheduled. This letter was signed with bipartisan support by both Senators and Representatives from the Clackamas Caucus.


** A Typical Day
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Everyday is different, some nights after a long day of meetings and committee hearings we are called to the floor, others I need to rush back to the district to hear from constituents or attend community meetings.

Somethings are consistent from day-to-day:

Committee Meetings: This is where we do the work of vetting bills and amending them as needed. Committees hear input from stakeholders and the public, adopt amendments to bills, and take votes about whether they should move to the next step of the process. My committee assignments include the House Committee On Health Care ([link removed]) and the Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Transportation and Economic Development ([link removed])

Floor Session: All legislation must be voted on by the full House and Senate before being sent to the Governor to be signed into law, and this happens on the ‘floor’ of each chamber. Each bill is carried by a legislator – carrying a bill means the legislator opens and closes debate.
There is also an opportunity for any other legislator to share their support or opposition, or to ask questions about the bill, before the final vote happens.

Caucus Meetings: Each of the four caucuses in the legislature (House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans) meet regularly to discuss items coming to the floor, ask and answer questions about legislation and hear about what others are working on.

Meetings with Stakeholders and Constituents: Almost every day I spend time meeting with people who come to Salem to lobby for or against proposed legislation. Sometimes this is with professional lobbyists, but often it’s with grassroots advocates or people from House District 37 who have made the trip to the Capitol to visit with me.

Thank you for reading and allowing me to be your voice in Salem. It's a great privilege. Please don't hesitate to call my office at 503-986-1437 or email at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

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Rachel for State Representative . 1980 willamette falls drive . Suite #120 - PMB#135 . West Linn, Or 97068 . USA

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