As our population ages, it is increasingly becoming apparent that health care accessibility and funding Medicare programs is important to Senior residents on the South Coast.  Having two loving parents who are now members of the ever-expanding Baby Boomer generation, I intimately understand their needs, along with their worries and fears regarding health care.

I am unique in my profession in that I have been educated and trained in various disciplines of both Dentistry and Medicine.  It is important to have leadership within our Oregon Legislature of individuals that are experts and have direct knowledge of the medical profession.  Along with providing adequate and accessible health care to the elderly, it is important to continue serving those in our community who are needy.

Marketplace reforms and policies that are important for our area include making prescription drugs more affordable via expanding access to the Oregon Prescription Drug Program, looking closely at the waste and inefficiency identified in our hospitals, government programs, and private insurance markets, expanding the ability allowing people to pay for medical and dental expenses from tax-sheltered Health Savings Accounts, and eliminating any unwarranted intrusions by government and insurers into the doctor-patient relationship.

As a local Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon to our region, I have seen increased regulation and intrusion into my practice by both our Federal and State government. The doubling of paperwork imposed upon my practice this last decade is a clear example of government’s intrusion into the sacred doctor-patient relationship.