FP Report -- December 1999
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, M.D., to present 2000 Assembly keynote
Oregon Gov. John A. Kitzhaber, M.D., author of the ground-breaking Oregon Health Plan, will present the keynote lecture at the 2000 AAFP Assembly Sept. 20 in Dallas.
Kitzhaber practiced emergency medicine for 13 years, then began his political career in 1978. He served in the Oregon House of Representatives and the Oregon Senate before his successful run for governor in 1994. Kitzhaber was recognized nationally for writing the Oregon Health Plan when he was president of the Oregon Senate. He also is credited with bringing together diverse interest groups to pass the law, which took effect in February 1994.
During his first term as governor, Kitzhaber oversaw the expansion of the Oregon Health Plan, which reduced the rate of uninsured Oregon children from 21 percent to 8 percent. In addition, Kitzhaber's welfare reform plan, known as the Oregon Option, has reduced the number of welfare caseloads more than 50 percent, saved more than $200 million in the state budget and helped nearly 20,000 Oregonians find work. Kitzhaber was re-elected for a second term in 1998.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1999 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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