Measure 101 passes

The voters have spoken: Measure 101 will soon become law. The measure, the only item on the ballot for the Jan. 23 special election, was an attempt to overturn some of the provisions of a House bill that passed in 2017.


With the passage of Measure 101, those provisions will stay in place.

Statewide, 61 percent of voters approved the measure. In Deschutes County, roughly 54 percent voted in favor.


This, from our coverage of the measure in the Jan. 11 issue:

Measure 101 approved the following provisions:

1. A tax of 1.5 percent on the gross premium equivalents received by the Public Employees' Benefit Board, during a calendar quarter for the two-year duration of the legislation

2. A tax of 1.5 percent on the gross premiums earned by an insurer during a calendar quarter for the two-year duration of the legislation

3. A tax of 1.5 percent on the gross amount of premium equivalents received by a managed care organization, during a calendar quarter for the two year duration of the legislation

4. An additional assessment of 0.7 percent on the net revenue of all non-waivered hospitals in Oregon. Measure 101 also would allow insurers subject to the legislation to increase premiums by up to 1.5 percent—the amount of the assessment charged.

Funds from the measure will be used to provide funding for Medicaid funding in Oregon, which helps provide health insurance to some 350,000 low-income adults, kids and people with disabilities in Oregon, as well as other medical assistance and services that help to stabilize the insurance marketplace.