Rogue Valley News, Friday 5/5 – 65-year-old Mushroom Hunter Missing Outside Ashland, Witnesses Take Stand In Ashland Murder Trial 

The latest news stories of interest in the Rogue Valley and the state of Oregon from the digital home of Southern Oregon, Wynne Broadcasting’s RogueValleyMagazine.com

Friday, May 5, 2023

Rogue Valley Weather
Today  Showers likely, mainly after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tonight
Showers likely, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. North northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday
A chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Snow level 5000 feet lowering to 3900 feet after midnight . Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. West southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers after 11am. Snow level 3700 feet rising to 5100 feet in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Monday
A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
Monday Night
A slight chance of showers before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Tuesday
A slight chance of showers after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 67.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 45.

65-year-old Mushroom Hunter Missing Outside Ashland 

Video Available: https://vimeo.com/823504611?share=copy

May be an image of 7 people and text

JCSO Case 23-2406

ASHLAND, Ore. – Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) Search and Rescue (SAR) is looking for a man missing outside of Ashland since Sunday.  John Early, 65, of Ashland, was last seen Sunday late afternoon in the area of mile marker 26 of Highway 66. Early and a friend were on a camping trip when they separated while mushroom hunting. He is described as 6’2” tall, weighing 200 pounds, with fair skin, blue eyes, and red hair. He was last seen wearing a long-john-style shirt with a hoodie, jeans, and hiking boots.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'MISSING PERSON John Early 6'2" 200 lbs. Fair Skin Red Hair Blue Eyes Hoodie Long John Shirt Jeans Hiking Boots CASE#23-2406 SEARCH & RESCUE'

Search and rescue teams from Josephine, Douglas, Klamath, and Siskiyou counties are all on scene assisting JCSO. The search teams include ATVs, canine units, and mounted.

Mr. Early does not have a vehicle and does not drive. If anyone has seen him or possibly given him a ride, please call ECSO Dispatch at (541) 776-7206 and reference JCSO case 23-2406.

Witnesses Take Stand In Ashland Murder Trial

The trial of Robert Paul Keegan continues as opening arguments and testimonies were given. Ashland Police officers took the stand to recount the moments they arrived on the scene of the Stratton Inn in Ashland.

“I don’t know exactly what he (Ellison) said but he just said the N-word and then Robert was like, ‘Don’t call me the N-word,’ back to him and that’s what started the fight,” Calin said.

He also testified that he saw Ellison throw the first punch but didn’t see either of the men land any serious blows. Shortly after the fight started, Carlin said Keegan took out his gun and pulled the trigger.

the Robert Keegan murder trial continued on Thursday at the Jackson County Courthouse. Keegan is accused of shooting and killing 19-year-old Aiden Ellison at the Stratford Inn hotel in Ashland on Nov. 23, 2020.

Steve Bohn, a detective with the Jackson County’s Sheriff’s Office, took the stand and shared the details of his interview with Keegan the morning the incident took place.

Bohn showed the court the pictures he took of Keegan to document any injuries he may have received but Bohn said he appeared to be uninjured. During his interview session with Keegan, Bohn said he asked when Keegan decided to get his gun. According to Bohn’s testimony, Keegan lied and then changed his answer.

Bohn also testified that Keegan told him he intentionally pulled the trigger.

Angel Carlin, a Stratford Inn employee who witnessed the incident, also took the stand on Thursday.

Carlin was working the overnight shift from about 11 p.m. on Nov. 22 to 7 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2020. He testified that Keegan came into the front desk on the morning of Nov. 23 and complained of loud music coming from the parking lot. Carlin said when he went outside to investigate the complaint, he ran into Ellison, who denied making any noise but admitted he got into an argument with a guest.

Carlin testified that while he was speaking to Ellison and Keegan outside, the two men began arguing.

In Custody Death Investigation – Douglas Co. Sheriff’s Office 

ROSEBURG, Ore. – A Roseburg man has died while in custody at the Douglas County Jail.

On Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at approximately 7:19 am, a deputy discovered that a male adult in custody (AIC) was not responsive. Deputies summoned emergency services, who confirmed the AIC, identified as 45-year-old Thomas Phillip Vorhis of Roseburg, was deceased.

Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin requested the assistance of the Roseburg Police Department, an outside agency, to investigate the circumstances of the death. An autopsy will be performed on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office in Clackamas. Currently there are no indications of foul play, although the investigation is ongoing.

“I extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Vorhis’ loved ones,” Sheriff Hanlin said. “Any death that occurs in the Corrections facility is taken seriously and fully investigated. I wish to thank the Roseburg Police Department for independently investigating this death and for their careful and thoughtful review of the facts.”

Any further information will be released by the Roseburg Police Department.

Detectives  Reopen Stephanie Warner Cold Case and Are Investigating After Human Hair and Tissue Found Near Cold Case Site in Ruch

Detectives Investigating After Human Hair, Tissue Found Near Cold Case Site (Photo)

JCSO Case 13-12661  RUCH, Ore. – Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) detectives have reopened the cold case investigation into the 2013 disappearance of Stephanie Anne Warner. Investigators believe Stephanie was the victim of homicide and her body was left in the Applegate area.

Monday afternoon, what is believed to be human hair and tissue were found near her residence in the 9000 block of Highway 238. Investigators sent the tissue to the Oregon State Police Forensics Laboratory to obtain a positive scientific identification.

JCSO detectives and Search & Rescue (SAR) personnel are conducting an evidence search in the area of China Gulch Road, near where Stephanie lived. The hair was initially found by a mushroom hunter who called in the suspicious remains.

Stephanie was last seen on July 4, 2013, leaving the Fourth of July Parade in Ashland around 4:30 pm with her boyfriend, Lennie Ames. They left together in Stephanie’s green 2003 Nissan Xterra and were believed to be heading back to Stephanie’s house in Ruch. Stephanie was last seen wearing jeans, black lace-up boots and a pink or beige top. Lennie and his son Jared Fournier are believed to know something about Stephanie’s disappearance but have been uncooperative with the investigation.

Investigators have been going through the entire case reviewing police reports, re-listening to recorded interviews, and re-examining the evidence. Southern Oregon High Tech Crime Task Force is using advanced technology to examine the digital evidence including computers, and cell phones.

Anyone with information about Stephanie’s disappearance is asked to contact Sergeant Jesse Ainsworth at (541) 774-6816. As we approach ten years since she went missing, please help us get justice and bring Stephanie home to her family.

The reel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reel/762088025589708

Josephine County Missing Person Project

There are 50 missing people from Josephine County in the Oregon State Police Missing Person list.
There are 25 missing people in Josephine County with available photographs.
The Josephine County Missing Person Project Rally, organized by JoCo MPP
The Josephine County Missing Person Project, JoCoMPP, needs YOUR help in order to call attention to these 25 people, to keep their names, faces, and stories in the public eye. With your help, we will be able to hold an event in June outside of the Josephine County Courthouse to show people that we have not forgotten our missing. The number, and therefore the price, may adjust as we find more available photographs of missing people who are on the Oregon State Police list.
We understand that not everybody can attend this event, and so we’d like to offer community members the opportunity to donate a set amount that will either go towards a sign or stack of 50 flyers to be used during this demonstration. Bigfoot Print and Copy of Cave Junction has offered us a reduced pricing package.
A large, waterproof sign that will be held by an in-person participant is $25. As we already have one sign, the rest tally up to $600
A stack of 50 color flyers is $20. For 25 stacks, the cost will be $500 in total.
these prices include the anticipated fee that GoFundMe will take from the donations.
If we exceed the requested amount, any and all proceeds will go towards amenities for participants like water, snacks, and seating. If there is more than we need for that, we will use the leftover donations to fund investigative and promotional efforts by way of more flyers and potential advertising spots in local press. Anything helps, now is your chance to help some of these families find the closure they have been seeking for years.  Follow on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JoCoMPP

Wildfire Alert App Expanding Coverage To Oregon

Watch Duty, a wildfire alert app run by active and retired firefighters and first responders, is expanding its coverage to Oregon next week.

John Mills, co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization, said the app helps bring real-time wildfire updates to people, typically faster than law enforcement or government agencies.

Mills said he almost lost his ranch in Sonoma County to wildfires on multiple occasions and said Watch Duty helps save lives during fire season.

“It wasn’t until the 2020 lightning siege when half of California was on fire that it really occurred to me that the key was these men and women, retired and active firefighters, first responders and others who were on Facebook and Twitter listening to radio scanners all day and all night,” Mills said. “That’s where I found all the real-time information.”

Watch Duty was created in 2021 and currently covers the state of California, with more than 500,000 users. The website and app will cover the state of Oregon starting May 2.

Mills said having access to real-time information during fire season can potentially save lives. As fires continue to become more frequent in California and Oregon, he said every second counts.

“It’s extremely important to us that everything is vetted and still using nixels and Code Reds and everything else the government used,” Mills said. “You need to have those but ultimately, we need more information faster and so Watch Duty works in unison with the government.”

Senate Republicans Continue a Quorum-Denying Walkout Boycotting Sessions To Try and Halt Bills On Guns And Abortion

Most Republican members of the Oregon Senate failed to show up for the second straight day Thursday, delaying action by the majority Democrats on bills on gun safety, abortion rights and gender-affirming health care.

The stayaway prevented a quorum, with Senate President Rob Wagner calling for another try on Friday. Republican lawmakers have used walkouts in the past, but this time — if they continue to stay away — they’ll be testing a law approved overwhelmingly in a ballot measure last November that bans lawmakers with 10 unexcused absences from running for reelection.

The boycott comes as several statehouses around the nation, including in Montana and have become battlegrounds between conservatives and liberals. Oregon has increasingly been divided between liberal population centers like Portland and Eugene and its mostly conservative rural areas.

—— Several Oregon Senate Republicans went missing Wednesday and Thursday, kicking off the latest in a series of legislative walkouts that the party has staged in recent years.

Walkouts are stall tactic employed by the minority party, usually to kill specific legislation. Most bills only require a simple majority vote to pass, but the Senate and House can’t hold votes unless a quorum is present, meaning at least two-thirds of each chamber’s members.

Democrats hold 17 of the Oregon Senate’s 30 seats and 35 of the House’s 60 seats, which means they have enough votes to pass most (but not all) legislation without Republican support, but they can’t achieve a quorum in either chamber on their own. If enough Republicans walk out, business grinds to a halt.

The leader of Senate Republicans, Sen. Tim Knopp, spoke on the phone Thursday with Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek after telling journalists Wednesday that a derailed legislative session would jeopardize the governor’s legislative agenda, including tackling homelessness.

Knopp’s spokesperson, Ashley Kuenzi, said Kotek expressed willingness to help resolve the impasse. But the governor’s office had a different characterization of the call, with Knopp being asked to stop the boycott.

“The governor listened to his concerns and reiterated that he is making choices,” said Kotek’s spokesperson, Elisabeth Shepard. “She asked him to choose to get back to work to do the people’s business.”

Knopp told a news conference Wednesday that Republicans are protesting because bill summaries are not being written in plain language even though a 1979 state law requires they be readable by anyone with an eighth or ninth-grade education, which is measured by a score of at least 60 on the Flesch readability test.

Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber said that’s just a pretext, and noted that the vast majority of bills have passed with bipartisan support, including on housing and attracting the semiconductor industry to Oregon.

“This is about abortion, guns and transgender rights,” Lieber said. “The timing of this is such that they’re walking out on important legislation that Oregonians sent us here to do.”

The Senate added this weekend to its schedule to convene, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The existence of the readability law, passed by the Legislature in 1979 with bipartisan support, was discovered in April by a Republican caucus staffer. Knopp said he does not know when the law was last employed to make bill summaries easy to read.

“But it’s important that we follow the law because, if we’re passing laws today, are we just expecting in, you know, 20, 30, 40 years that people are just going to ignore the laws that we have on the books that we all passed,” Knopp said Wednesday. “I don’t think we would appreciate that.”

Asked if the Republican boycott was due to the bills on gun control and abortion and gender-affirming care, Knopp said, “It’s about every bill. But those bills specifically also don’t qualify under this law, and they refuse to fix them.”

Knopp said Republicans are reviewing bills to see if they pass the readability test. He added that legislative counsel, the non-partisan office that drafts legislation, “in large part is to blame for the bills not meeting Oregon law.”

Some local leaders, labor organizations and activists supporting reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights in Central Oregon called on Knopp to end the Republican walkout and planned to hold a rally later on Thursday in Bend — Knopp’s hometown.

GOP lawmakers employed the same boycott strategy in 2019 and 2020 to freeze legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions, among other things. Oregon has a two-thirds quorum rule, meaning the state House and Senate need two-thirds of their members to be present to conduct business. In the Senate, that’s 20 of its 30 members. Currently, 17 senators are Democrats, 12 are Republicans and one is an independent.

If Republican senators deny a quorum for the rest of the legislative session, which doesn’t end until late June, they could theoretically kill the bills on gun control, abortion rights and gender-affirming care.

The wide-ranging bill on abortion and gender-affirming care would shield patients and providers from lawsuits originating in states where abortion and gender-affirming care are now restricted. It would also allow doctors to provide an abortion to anyone regardless of age and bar them in certain cases from disclosing that to parents.

The gun control measure would increase the purchasing age to 21 for AR-15-style rifles and similar guns, impose penalties for possessing undetectable firearms and allow for more limited concealed-carry rights.

___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Judge Denies Oregon Republican Effort To Waylay Abortion, Gender-Affirming Health Care Bill

Republicans failed to win a temporary restraining order delaying House Bill 2002. The party’s Senate walkout continues.

Republican lawmakers stumbled Thursday in their legal effort to delay a contentious abortion bill by insisting Democrats had not followed proper procedure when putting it forward.

Marion County Circuit Judge David Leith denied a petition on behalf of two GOP legislators and the advocacy group Oregon Right To Life, requesting the court temporarily block Senate Democrats from passing House Bill 2002. In doing so, Leith signaled serious misgivings that the case would ultimately succeed, nodding to arguments from government lawyers that the court had no authority to block the Legislature from doing its job.

“I don’t see any likelihood of success in persuading the court … to enjoin that legislative function,” Leith said.

It was not ultimately clear Thursday whether Republicans would continue to pursue the matter in court. Meanwhile, the party made clear it has other options to block Democrats’ progress.

For the second day in a row, just two Republican lawmakers showed up in Senate chambers for a scheduled floor session. Ten Republicans and one Independent were absent — many in protest to Democrats’ agenda this year — meaning the chamber did not have a 20-member quorum and could not conduct business.

At issue in the court case — filed Wednesday by state Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, state Rep. Emily McIntire, R-Eagle Point, and Oregon Right To Life — is a state statute that legislative officials say hasn’t been followed in decades.

Under ORS 171.134, legislative attorneys that write summaries of bills before the Legislature need to ensure they are readily understandable by the general public. Specifically, the law, enacted by Democrats in 1979, says those summaries need to score a 60 or higher on something called the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, or something comparable. The Flesch test analyzes text for how easy it is to read, and a score of 60 connotes a reading level of about eighth grade.

HB 2002′s bill summary — and breakdowns of pretty much every other piece of legislation — don’t meet that threshold. Republicans have attempted to force Democrats to revise the document to comply with the law, but have been overruled by the majority party, hence the lawsuit.

The GOP was represented in court Thursday by Vance Day, a former Marion County judge who has seen controversy over refusing to marry same-sex couples, among other things, and was suspended from the bench for ethical violations.

“This is obviously an unusual case,” Day told Leith, his former colleague on the Marion County bench. “You’re being asked to step into a different branch [of government] with, in many ways, probably a very heavy foot.”

But Day made the case that the Legislature had failed to comply with the law, and that there had to be some form of accountability when that happens.

If Democrats could simply fail to follow the law, he asked, “then what is the use of the statute. Is there no remedy under the statute?” Day argued that a restraining order would not block Democrats from ultimately passing HB 2002, just force them to follow the law.

Lawyers with the Oregon Department of Justice told Leith that’s not how the state’s constitution works.

Under the state’s separation of powers, they said, the court could not step in to dictate the manner in which lawmakers legislate. “That strikes right at the core of legislative functions and at the core of legislative independence,” said Assistant Attorney General Alex Jones.

The DOJ likened the statute in question to a legislative rule that lawmakers could choose to obey as they saw fit. And they pointed out that, under the state constitution, lawmakers cannot be forced to come to court for civil process during legislative session.

Senate President Rob Wagner, House Speaker Dan Rayfield, and three legislative officials are named as defendants in the suit. “President Wagner can’t be sued today, because the Legislature is in session,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Simmonds Marshall. “If he was the key witness in an automobile accident case, he could not be subject to a summons … I honestly have no idea why any of them think they can stop the Legislature from legislating.”

Day argued that Democrats could easily repeal ORS 171.134 if they want, but noted they have made no move to do so. But the DOJ said that, by passing HB 2002 in its current form, lawmakers would effectively be choosing to nullify the law — at least as it applies to that bill.

In the end, Leith seemed to agree that there’s a high likelihood he ultimately could not block Democrats from acting. And since the argument was not likely to fly in the case, he denied the restraining order.

But Leith also made clear he did not believe Democrats complied with the readability statute.

“If it was mine to decide, I would say that the summary doesn’t meet that standard,” Leith said. “I am also not at all sure that it’s possible to accurately convey the information that would summarize this bill without exceeding the threshold that the statute provides.” (SOURCE)

Watered-Down Version of Rent Control Bill Clears Oregon Senate Panel

A watered-down version of a proposal meant to prevent a repeat of the nearly 15% rent hikes allowed this year cleared a Senate committee Thursday.

Oregon’s 2019 statewide rent control law caps increases on many buildings to no more than 7% plus inflation. Last year’s high inflation cleared the way for landlords to hike rents by 14.6%.

Note: The CPI calculation is for the prior year. It is shifted forward one year above to properly align with the year for which it applies for the maximum annual increase. The first year for which the law applies is 2019. Previous years are shown for illustrative purposes. Oregon Office of Economic Analysis

Sen. Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, introduced Senate Bill 611 in January to change the allowable hike to no more than 8% or 3% plus inflation, whichever was lower. By the time the Senate Rules Committee voted to send the measure to the Senate floor on Thursday, the bill had been amended to the lesser of a 10% cap or 7% plus inflation.

Campos told committee members that she and supporters have had many conversations with renters, landlords and other legislators to reach an agreement on the bill.

“We feel that we have brought forth a bill that would benefit many Oregonians,” she said. “We have heard the stories of folks who were on the brink of losing their housing and whose voices have come forth a lot throughout this discussion, saying that these sorts of rent increases are the difference between them being able to stay in their homes or not.”

The changes weren’t enough for Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, who voted against the bill. Knopp and other Republicans also opposed the 2019 rent control law.

“While this policy may help some people, it will hurt many,” he said.

He said landlords who otherwise might not have raised rent now issue annual rent increases or charge the maximum allowed. Knopp, the executive vice president of the Central Oregon Builders Association, added that developers will build in states with fewer restrictions.

The real estate website Zillow estimates that the median Oregon rent is $1,810. Under the current law, that median rent could increase by almost $265 per month, or nearly $3,200 per year. The introduced version of SB 611 would have capped increases for that median apartment at about $145 per month, or just under $1,740 annually, and the latest version would result in a cap of $181 per month or about $2,170 per year.

Oregon’s rent control law only applies to buildings once they’re 15 years old, and it doesn’t apply to subsidized housing. There’s also no limit on how high landlords can set rent between tenants.

The measure’s future is unclear as Senate Republicans continue a quorum-denying walkout preventing the chamber from passing bills. Some Senate Republicans are continuing to participate in committee meetings but have stayed away from the Capitol when they’re scheduled to be on the floor.  (SOURCE)

OHA Report Shows Oregonians Delaying Health Care Due To High Costs

Rising healthcare costs have caused more Oregonians to delay accessing health care since 2019, according to an Oregon Health Authority report.

Healthcare costs have been rising the past 10 years due to inflation. And the pandemic caused a spike in costs because of staffing shortages, expanded behavioral health care and a pause on non-emergency services, the report says.

Nationally, 38% of adults reported delaying health care in 2022 because of costs.

In 2020, health care and health insurance costs represented 23% of household spending in Oregon, an upward trend continuing from 2018 as costs increased faster than the national rate, according to the report.

Economic barriers to health care cause some people to delay getting the services they need, especially working-age adults and Hispanic or Latino individuals. The pandemic put a greater burden on these individuals, the report said.

People of color, those in rural areas, and low-income individuals and families experience more barriers to accessing quality health care, such as a lack of economic stability, transportation, and availability of services nearby.

While some people delay health care leading to worsening health outcomes, others accrue medical debt. The report said 10.2% of Oregonians reported using all or most of their savings on medical bills in 2021.

A Couple Accused Of Chaining Up, Strangling And Verbally Abusing A Child For Nearly A Year Has Been Arrested In Oregon

Ana Miranda, 67, and her husband Charles “Randy” Ward, 74, were arrested on criminal mistreatment charges as part of an investigation into child abuse, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) said.

The investigation began on April 26 when detectives with the violent crimes unit received reports of possible child abuse at a home near Tigard. They interviewed several witnesses and got a search warrant for the home, ultimately finding evidence inside the house that “corroborated the allegations of abuse.”

Detectives received information that a child was being chained up in the house, often for more than 12 hours daily. The child was also strangled, hit, kicked, and verbally abused, including derogatory slurs,” the sheriff’s office said.

The abuse went on for nearly a year, investigators said. It allegedly started because the child took food and drinks from the kitchen.

The couple lived at the house with nine children and two adults.

Miranda was indicted on eight counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, single counts each of strangulation, second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

According to a criminal indictment filed Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court, Miranda “knowingly” withheld food, physical and medical care from a minor several times between July 2019 and April 2023. The assault charge stems from an alleged physical injury caused by metal pliers.

Ward was indicted on four counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, also for allegedly withholding food and care from the minor on purpose.

A deputy district attorney in Washington County filed notices to seek sentence enhancements against each suspect, claiming they were “deliberately cruel to the victim,” adding that “the degree of harm or loss attributed to the current crime of conviction was significantly greater than typical for such an offense.”

A judge set bond for Ward and Miranda at $15,000 and $25,000, respectively, with the conditions that if they are released pre-trial they must be on house arrest, not reside with someone who lived in the residence where the incident occurred, not contact any minor or any victim in this case, or each other.

A sheriff’s office spokesperson said those charges stem from two victims living at the house, and that they are working to see if there was any other abuse. Sgt. Danny DiPietro said the agency is still investigating and could request additional charges.

There are many more children in that home, and the investigation is continuing to see if any of them sustained any injuries or any kind of abuse in the past,” DiPietro said.

“I want to make sure everyone knows that the children involved in this case are safe. They’re with family,” he added. Anyone with helpful information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 503-846-2700. (SOURCE)

Oregonians most impacted by increased health care costs

Rising health care costs primarily affect uninsured working age adults in Oregon. Of those who are insured, those with Medicaid (Oregon Health Plan) and commercial health plans were more likely to delay care than those with Medicare.

In 2021, 9.2% of Oregonians 19-34 years old, 9.8% of those 35-64 years, and 5.2% of those 65 years and older reported delaying health care due to costs, the report shows.

Oregonians of color experience more economic barriers when accessing health care, according to the OHA’s Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target Program

EditSign

. People with two or more races or who are Hispanic or Latino were most likely to report delaying care due to costs.

American Indian and Alaskan Native Oregonians, who represent 1.9% of the population, were the third most likely to report delaying health care due to costs.

White people, who make up 74% of the Oregon population, reported the least difficulty paying their medical bills.

What is driving the increase in healthcare costs?

The net cost of private health insurance represents the cost to Oregonians for their health insurance, whether that is a commercial health plan, a Medicare Advantage plan or Oregon Health Plan. This cost per person rose by 38.7% from 2019-2020.

These costs are partially due to a low number of claims being made during the pandemic because people were not seeking non-emergency health care but still paying their monthly insurance premiums.

The average yearly cost per person for Medicare in 2020 was $1,360, a 64% increase from previous years. For Medicaid, these costs rose by 49.5% to $424 per person in 2020.

Insurance companies expect costs will continue climbing due to inflation, as people seek to access health care they were not able to receive during the pandemic.

Insurance companies also attributed rising drug costs to the pharmaceutical industry and an increase in inpatient hospital services as drivers of cost increases.

Efforts in Oregon to expand and improve access to behavioral health care have resulted in increased behavioral health spending, which also drives up the costs for patients.

Health care providers say workforce retention and recruitment has resulted in an increased economic burden as they try to incentivize workers to remain in or join the health care workforce, especially hospitals attempting to maintain operations.

In 2021, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems reported a 20% increase in hospital payroll costs.

OHA Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target Program: A hearing will be held May 17 to discuss the report, analyze the high costs of health care and discuss possible ways to lower the economic burden. (SOURCE)

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