Jessica Gomez, chief executive officer of Rogue Valley Microdevices in Medford, was appointed by Gov. Kate Brown to join the Oregon State Health Care Committee, which is tasked with curbing rising health care costs in Oregon.
Gomez, a Republican who made an unsuccessful bid in 2018 for the Oregon Senate, said health care is a topic she has been interested in for some time.
She said the state has programs to help less fortunate residents get health care, but middle-income families have been hard hit by rising premiums and increasing health care costs.
“People in the middle are really struggling with health care,” she said. “It’s an issue that affects all of us.”
At her own company, Gomez said she made a commitment years ago that she would pay for the premiums for her 25 employees. She said it cost her company $240,000 to provide the health care plan.
Even with the premiums paid for, it’s still a struggle for her employees who have to pay for expensive medications or expensive deductions, she said. As a result, she said her company has set up a program to help employees deal with high deductibles or other large medical expenses.
She said she’s heard similar stories from other local residents who find more of their income has to be devoted to health care.
“Every year it gets more expensive and arguably less coverage,” she said.
Fixing the problem will be difficult, because of the way the health care system is set up in this country. “It’s stuck in the middle,” she said. “It’s not completely a free market, and it’s not completely government regulated.”
The health care problem affects not only employees but many companies that are trying provide the most cost-effective insurance program, Gomez said.
She said the goal of the committee will to recommend legislation for the 2022 legislative session that would help bring down health care costs in the state.
Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or dmann@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.