REP. KNUTE BUEHLER, CONT. Rep. Knute Buehler, MD, met his campaign goal of knocking on more than 20,000 Bend area homes. Courtesy Knute Buehler Campaign. Rep. Knute Buehler, MD, built a ‘Beer Lovers for Buehler” coalition to fight increased taxes and regulation on the craft beer industry in Bend. Courtesy Knute Buehler Campaign. The Session Ahead In Salem, Rep. Buehler's focusing on the Triple Aim of health care reform-cost, access and quality. He says the state needs to deliver on the Governor’s promise to use Oregon’s 16 coordinated care organizations to reduce costs by two percent over the current baseline. It’s a promise the state must keep or face the prospect of reimbursing millions of dollars back to the federal government. Rep. Buehler also hopes to increase access to primary care physicians by improving the state’s loan forgiveness programs and enhancing current incentives designed to attract young physicians to practice in rural communities. He would also like to see more family practice residency programs created in the state and a greater reliance on technologies such as telemedicine capabilities. Dedicated Health Court Concept He also hopes to explore the concept of a dedicated health court with the aim of reducing costs associated with medical liability claims. The model would be similar to the one used for maritime court, in which staff with specialized expertise and experienced judges would help navigate complex legal cases. “It’s very difficult for a lay jury many times to sort out all the evidence, all the expert testimony on both sides. I’ve been involved in giving that type of expert testimony in the past. And sitting there listening to those cases, it’s even hard for me as a medical professional to make sure people have a decision that is just and fair, and I think a medical health court is something we should explore and consider,” added Rep. Buehler. A Motivating Force Rep. Buehler says health care is a motivating force behind his decision to run for public office. He says his approach is not to dismantle health care reform but to work to make those reforms more effective and more transparent. He says the biggest challenge facing physicians today is the switch from a volume based reimbursement system to one which is value based. It’s not an easy transition for providers who must keep the focus on quality care, while the business model is in flux. “It’s almost like changing out the engine in the car, while you’re still trying to drive it down the street. They have to run some dual tracks here for a while until we’re able to make that full transition of moving that engine out of one vehicle to the next,” said Rep. Buehler. Beer Fans for Rep. Buehler Health care is not Rep. Buehler’s only focus for the session, however. He’s also hoping to keep his pledge to voters for less taxes and regulation. A fan of the growing craft brewery industry in Bend, he built a successful “Beer Fans for Buehler” coalition, pledging to oppose higher state taxes on the industry, which employees more than 1,000 people in the Bend area. “Unfortunately in nearly every recent legislative session, there’s been an effort to increase taxes on the craft brewery industry, and we think that’s exactly the wrong approach. We shouldn’t tax a new and successful industry. We should do everything we can to support it and build it; so it’s kind of symbolic of where I stand,” he said. Rep. Buehler also sees a real need for more health care professionals to join the political process, given the impact of health care on the state and national economies. “I think in general we need more scientists involved in politics. We have enough lawyers and we need more people who are taking a different approach to policy. I think lawyers are trained more to win the argument regardless of whether they’re right or not, and physicians are trained to solve the problem based on data; and I think in general, we need to take a more data driven approach to our policy and politics,” said Rep. Buehler. Watch Rep. Knute Buehler’s election night speech at www.knutebuehler.com/ news-media. 14 Medicine in Oregon www.theOMA.org
OMA Winter 2015 Magazine
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