Health Care for All Oregonians: Oregon’s Universal Health Plan Governance Board
What is the Oregon Universal Health Plan Governance Board?
Since the passage of Measure 111 in 2022, Oregon has had the right to healthcare included in its constitution. Currently, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) is the state of Oregon’s public health insurance program, providing free or low-cost coverage to eligible low-income residents.
Functioning as a separate entity, the Oregon Universal Health Plan Governance Board has been tasked, under Senate Bill 1089 (passed in 2023), with developing a state-wide universal healthcare plan, to be reviewed and approved by the Oregon legislature starting in the fall of 2026.
In discussions about universal health care, the Oregon Universal Health Plan Governance Board is often cited because it is tasked with creating a plan to expand coverage, control costs, and improve health equity in Oregon. The Board plays a key role in advancing universal health care principles by increasing access to care, reducing disparities, and piloting system-wide reforms. The work done by this board has put Oregon at the forefront of progressive healthcare reform.
The board is composed of nine members who were appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate. Members come from a range of backgrounds, including health care, health policy, consumer advocacy, and community leadership, and they serve on an unpaid, fixed-term basis to promote public accountability and independence from special interests. One of the board members, Dr. Chunhuei Chi, a professor in Public Health at Oregon State University and a longtime universal healthcare advocate, has been on the board since February 2024 and is currently contributing to discussions on the financing, implementation of a universal health plan, and the public education needed to gain public approval of such a plan.
What Makes the Governance Board Unique?
The Universal Health Plan Governance Board is a citizen-led governing body created by the Oregon Legislature to guide long-term health policy rather than manage the daily operations of OHP. Its responsibilities include setting statewide health goals focused on access, affordability, equity, and quality; proposing major policy changes and federal waivers; overseeing improvements to the Oregon Health Plan; monitoring health outcomes and health care cost growth; and guiding reforms that emphasize preventive, coordinated, and community-based care.
The current Oregon and U.S. health care system is a mixed model that relies on private insurance, employer-sponsored coverage, and public programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which means access to care often depends on factors such as income, employment, age, or disability status. Even people with insurance must pay expensive premiums, deductibles, and copays. Those who remain uninsured or underinsured, face immense financial barriers to timely and affordable care while a small number of financial oligarchs continue to profit off people’s bad health. In contrast, the ORUHP governance board aims to develop a plan to ensure everyone is covered regardless of income, employment, or health status, through a single public system. This pursuit aligns with Measure 111: healthcare is a right, not a commodity. The Governance Board is guided by five overarching principles:
Health equity
Maximize health
Fair distribution of medical resources
Minimize financial hardship for individuals and families from medical costs
Community sense of ownership and governance
The Stakes for Universal Healthcare in Oregon
One of the UHP Governance Board members, Dr. Chunhuei Chi, explained the current reality for people trying to navigate ACA, employer-provided, and other private health insurance options, “There is a sizable portion of the [Oregon] population, who are covered, are actually what we may define as underinsured.” He continued, “Nationwide, the estimation of underinsured has been persistently comparable with the percentage of people who are uninsured”.
Underinsured is a tricky term to define, explained Dr. Chi but it has significant impacts for people depending on their health plans. “Because a large proportion of the…people who have high deductibles like [$]5,000, [$]10,000 or more are low-income people, and most of them don’t have that [$]5,000 to pay. That’s why even though they are covered…I would say more than 90% of the time [their insurance] is useless to them in terms of access to healthcare.”
Dr. Chi has spent decades researching and advising universal health insurance efforts. During his time at Harvard while pursuing his doctorate in Health Policy and Management, Dr. Chi advised on and contributed to designing the strategy of the planned implementation of National Health Insurance in Taiwan. Utilizing his extensive education and expertise in universal health system financing and strengthening, Dr. Chi has been a tremendous asset in the implementation of universal healthcare in Oregon.
As the ORUHP Governance Board approaches its September 15th, 2026 proposal submission date, Dr. Chi is beginning to consider what the future holds for the plan he and others have worked hard to develop. While Oregon is one of the states at the forefront of the fight for universal healthcare, there are still large challenges ahead. Dr. Chi explained that one of these challenges is the expectation that “we anticipate there will be a lot of disinformation and misinformation. Particularly commercial insurance companies may spread misinformation, disinformation and try to influence the public opinion about universal healthcare”.
Dr. Chi has been a member of Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates since 1998. In 2002, MVHCA founder Betty Johnson asked him to work out the tax financing scheme for the first universal healthcare ballot proposal in Oregon. “At that time, we knew it [was] very unlikely to pass, but we considered that an opportunity for public education”, Dr. Chi said. Nearly 25 years later Dr. Chi continues to advocate for universal healthcare, now as an official board member working on the universal healthcare plan with experts from across the state.
The UHP Governance Board meets on the third Thursday morning of each month and public participation (in-person or online) and comment is open and encouraged. Those interested are encouraged to submit in person or online verbal comments and written comments for longer commentary. All previous meeting materials and video recordings are available by following the links below.
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