Excellent News!!

Dear Supporters,

I write to you with some excellent news concerning the WhyNotPortland campaign. After six long months of gathering signatures, raising funds and speaking out on the importance of children’s health, we’ve won a major victory for Portland’s working families.

We are proud to announce that Portland City Council has agreed to pass a resolution calling for a plan to provide low-cost, quality health insurance for the uninsured children of Portland. A Policy Committee and Technical Support Team will be created to research and draft a proposal to provide health-care coverage for children who live in Portland and are currently uninsured. Most importantly, the resolution calls for the Kids Care Committee (the official name of the research team) to draft a plan that uses the following guidelines:

• Coverage for public school children
• Coverage for children age 0 to school-age
• Coverage for preventative care visits with a primary care physician with a minimal co-pay
• Coverage with a reasonable deductible, but in no case to be greater than $7,500; for diagnostic services, specialty care and hospitalizations
• Possible coverage for prescription drugs
• Final proposal delivered to Council by December 1, 2008
• Coverage to begin no later than September 1, 2009

In response to Council’s resolution, the campaign has agreed to suspend its signature-gathering drive and withhold the initiative from the November 2008 general election ballot. Our work, however, is not done. In the coming months, we will collaborate with Council to ensure that a plan is enacted and the children of Portland get the health-care coverage they deserve.

When this comes to fruition, it will be a direct result of the efforts of all of the volunteers, contributors and endorsers of our campaign. We know that we could not have come this far without you. Thank you for your support.

Yours Sincerely,

Gregg Coodley M.D.