HB 2902: Pay nurses as doctors mandate = Patients lose

HB 2902 forces insurers to pay nurse practitioners and physicians the same as physicians (as it relates to insurer reimbursements).  How is this going to reduce medical costs when you MANDATE higher medical costs?  In addition to increasing cost for primary care medical services HB 2902 will make it even harder to recruit physicians to practice in our state, which already suffers from a severe doctor shortage (especially in rural Oregon) . KVAL-TV Eugene reports “Family doctors are already in short supply, and now there are predictions the shortage is going to get even worse.” (4/10/10). HB 2902 has passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.

Vote results:

Dems voting Yes –Barker, Barnhart, Barton, Boone, Buckley, Clem, Dembrow, Doherty, Fagan, Frederick, Gallegos, Gelser, Gomberg, Gorsek, Greenlick, Harker, Holvey, Hoyle, Komp, Kotek, Lively, Matthews, McKeown, Nathanson, Read, Reardon, Tomei, Unger, Pederson, Williamson, Witt
GOP voting Yes —
Hicks, Huffman, Jenson, Kennemer, Parish, Smith, Whisnant, Thompson,

Dems Voting NO —
Bailey, Garrett, Keny-Guyer,

GOP Voting NO —
Bentz, Berger, Cameron, Conger, Davis, Esquivel, Freeman, Gilliam, Hanna, Johnson, Krieger, McLane, Olson, Richardson, Sprenger, Weidner, Whitsett;

Excused —
Thatcher