Two major health reform bills passed the Oregon Senate last week and now head to the Governor’s desk, where he has promised to sign them.

The bills passed at a key time, with soaring costs and an economic recession putting health care reform at the top of the agenda in Salem and Washington, D.C.

House Bill 2009 aims to lower skyrocketing health care costs, while House bill 2116 expands coverage for children and some low-income adults.

Highlights of the bills include:

Allowing stronger oversight of health insurance rate hikes.

Cutting red tape by replacing the myriad versions of claims and billing forms with one common electronic form.

Encouraging adoption of effective health information technology.

Using best practices in medicine to make sure that doctors and patients know of the latest, most effective therapies.

Improving health care cost transparency through an all-payer, all-claims database.

Establishing the Oregon Health Policy Board with the duty to contain costs, improve quality and expand access.

Directing the Authority’s Health Policy Board to develop a health insurance exchange, including a possible public plan option.

The bills represent the first piece of the health reform plan proposed by the Oregon Health Fund Board. OSPIRG students worked hard during the Health Fund Board's year-long study of the issue to ensure that students' voices were represented in the discussion. OSPIRG recruited students to testify at the Board's public hearings and organized hundreds more to send their personal health care stories to the Board.

These bills are an exciting step forward and also now set the stage for further reform, both in Oregon and nationwide.