Newsletter - Ron Maurer
Representative Ron Maurer
R-Grants Pass
District 3
Phone: 541-474-5456 | 900 Court St. NE, H-391, Salem Oregon 97301
Email: rep.ronmaurer@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/maurer
Health Access Oregon Update
On June 13, Representative Maurer announced Health Access Oregon, a two part health care proposal. The proposal will be introduced in the 2009 Legislative Session. The goal of Health Access Oregon is to expand access to healthcare, especially in the rural areas of the state. The first part of Health Access Oregon would expand access to healthcare on three fronts: first by giving Medicaid eligible families access to health and dental insurance; second by increasing the reimbursement to doctors who serve Medicaid patients; and third by expanding support to school-based health clinic and community health centers.
The second part of Health Access Oregon would provide the funding for the first part. The funding would come from savings on the state’s employment cost. Under the plan employees would be asked to begin contributing to their healthcare costs by paying a small percentage of their insurance premiums. By contributing to their healthcare cost, state employees will help save the state a total $291 million by 2013.
Representative Maurer is still in the planning stages of Health Access Oregon. He would greatly appreciate your questions, comments and ideas so he can continue to improve the proposal.
Relief Nursery in Josephine County
On Wednesday, June 25, a meeting was held in Grants Pass to discuss the possibility of bringing a Relief Nursery to Josephine County. There are currently nine Relief Nurseries in Oregon. The mission of the Relief Nurseries is to prevent child abuse and neglect. The focus of the program is on families struggling with drug and alcohol abuse as well as child safety issues. Relief Nurseries provide services to both the children and the parents. These services include crisis response, alcohol and drug recovery support, peer counseling services, and in-home parent education. The goal is to create safe and loving families for children.
Relief Nurseries in Oregon have been successful. They serve more than 1,000 children and their families every year. Ninety-three percent of the children served have no reports of abuse or neglect. Due to their success, other states are beginning to be interested. Recently, Texas established two Relief Nurseries. Communities in California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Virginia are also working to establish Relief Nurseries.
At the Wednesday meeting, Representative Maurer led the discussion on bringing Relief Nursery in Grants Pass. Dr. Mary-Curtis Gramley, the director of the Medford Relief Nursery, spoke on her experience with the Relief Nursery in Medford.
Relief Nurseries are public-private partnerships. Therefore, they need to support of local businesses and community leaders. If you are interested in being involved, please contact our District office. And to learn more about Relief Nurseries, please visit their website: www.reliefnursery.org.
Rep. Maurer Appointed to the Search and Rescue Policy Commission
Rep. Maurer was honored to be asked by the governor to serve as the House Representative on the Search and Rescue Policy Commission. According to Rep. Maurer “I had the privilege of serving on the Search and Rescue Taskforce in 2007 which laid the groundwork for this commission. Although the taskforce was a result of a family tragedy which took place in our own county, it highlighted the need for our state to become more proficient at utilizing existing resources and introducing new technologies to better serve our citizens.” The commission will begin meeting later this summer and will be the focal point for continuously improving Oregon’s search and rescue efforts.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call Rep. Maurer’s office.
