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World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on April 7, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other organizations.

This year's theme is Universal Health Coverage. Like the WHO, CareOregon believes that health care is a human right, and everyone should have access to quality health care.

What is Universal Health Coverage?

Universal Health Coverage is when all people, regardless of income, have access to quality, affordable health services. Its purpose is not only to keep people healthy, but also to protect them from the consequences of high medical bills. When confronted with medical bills, people without health insurance can experience years of financial strain, or worse. For some, medical debt can even lead to bankruptcy

About half of Earth's population does not have access to quality health care. At CareOregon, we are proud to advocate for every person having access to quality, affordable health care. As a managed health care company, our goal is to make world-class health care equally available to all Oregon residents, regardless of income. It is who we are.

How is Universal Health Coverage measured?

Different countries have different health challenges. Therefore, they must measure Universal Health Coverage by their respective needs. Two ways to measure progress are:
• how many people have access to quality health care
• how many people spend large amounts of their income on health

Once these have been identified, creating a system that addresses the needs of the people comes next. That's what Oregon did in creating the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) back in 1993. The level of coverage to OHP recipients is based on income, age, mental and physical condition. It’s also what our national policy makers did in passing the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Since Universal Health Coverage isn’t available in the United States, having medical insurance can prove very useful in providing peace of mind. It used to be that you got your insurance through an employer. But what if you are unemployed, or perhaps your employer doesn’t offer health care benefits? The Affordable Care Act was created to fix this issue, making health insurance available to anyone. A marketplace was created for people to purchase individual and family health insurance with the government subsidizing some of the costs for those with lower incomes.

Health insurance can help remove stress around health care costs in time of emergencies and routine care. Rising medical inflation and an increase in the number of deadly diseases makes having medical insurance even more important.

Having comprehensive health insurance and using it to stay on top of your health is an effective way of ensuring you stay well. Delayed care can mean worsening health conditions, delayed diagnoses and earlier deaths.

To see if you are eligible for the OHP, go to our “Am I Eligible” page of our website.
For those not eligible for the OHP, health insurance plans are available for purchase through healthcare.gov. You can compare health insurance plans online and choose the best plan for your needs.

Until Universal Health Coverage becomes a reality, CareOregon will continue to be a champion for making sure every person in Oregon has access to the health services they need to be healthy and whole.