OTLA Trial Lawyer Fall 2022

27 Trial Lawyer • Fall 2022 committee hearings. But the constant delays made me wonder if they were working back channels to try to kill the legislation. As the session was approaching its end date, the bill finally passed in the Senate and was awaiting a hearing in the House Rules Committee. The health insurance industry had been laying in wait until the 11th hour. They persuaded a budget analyst for the agency that administers public employee health plans to place a price tag on the legislation because those health plans might lose income. That meant either 300,000 public employees (including me) would not be covered, or it would have sent the bill to the legislative budget committee in the last few weeks of session. Going through the budget process would have killed the bill, and the health insurance industry knew it This is where my OTLA connections came in handy. Jackson andTowers were able to get a meeting with Governor Brown’s chief health policy advisor and chief legislative advisor. When the five of us sat down, I made my case directly, showing them my one-pager and telling my story just as I had done countless times with lawmakers. We were able to convince them of the flaw in the logic of the budget analyst. Later that day, I learned the governor’s staff had overruled the budget analyst for the health plans, after which the bill sailed through the House Rules Committee. Finally, on a Monday in June, the bill advanced to the House floor, where it was unanimously approved by all 60 lawmakers. Continued efforts I am immensely proud of this achievement, but Oregon’s Make Whole Law is not a cure-all. Our roads are deadlier than ever. The U.S. healthcare system is broken, and people affected by traffic crashes remain unacceptably vulnerable to financial devastation. Oregon’s Make Whole Law does not apply to selffunded ERISA plans, Medicare or Medicaid recipients. I’ve had conversations with Sen. Jeff Merkley’s and Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s offices about trying to pass a Make Whole bill at the federal level, but the landscape is vastly more complicated. I am hoping to someday find organizational and financial backing for this effort. Occasionally I will receive an email from a person or an attorney whose client benefited from the Make Whole Statute, and despite the many gaps in the law, knowing it has helped people makes all the time, effort and stress more than worth it. Sometimes Eric and I laugh about how one of Seamus’s legacies is insurance reform legislation, but that’s not all he left us. One of Seamus’s favorite things was to go outside and look at the moon. We have continued that tradition with his brother and sister (now age 9), who announce a “Seamus moon” anytime it peeks out from behind the clouds in Portland, or wherever we happen to be. In these moments, I feel connected to Seamus but also to the world around us, reminding us that small things (and small people) can have lasting impact. Editor’s note: Michelle DuBarry was the 2019 recipient of the Arthur Bryant Public Justice Award for her work on behalf of injured Oregonians. She had the courage to fight the insurance industry against long odds. Her perseverance was the key to this important victory. We also want to recognize the work of Neil Jackson, Rob Dolton, Tom D’Amore and countless other OTLA members whose behind-the-scenes work on consumer protection through the 2000s and 2010s helped create victories on auto insurance reform. We still have more to do to help crash victims but these legislative successes have helped many Oregonians. Michelle DuBarry is a writer, mom and activist in Portland. You can reach her at michelle.egan.dubarry@gmail.com.

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