I always love learning about my state from a newspaper that isn’t based in my state. Or in my country.

The BBC has an article about the state of our state’s health care system as a case study of the absurd solutions states are going to because of a health care system in shambles. We are covering a “lucky” 10,000 out of 600,000 in Oregon without health care, and out of an eligible 90,000.

We had a chance to insure all children in Oregon — and that was measure 50. That’s 104,000 children. That’s Autzen filled up twice — full of kids. That was Measure 50 where a sales tax on cigarettes would have accomplished this — and had the side effect of reducing rates of smoking, especially smoking of those under 18. And the cigarette companies put $12 million dollars into Oregon, in violation of the Master Settlement Agreement, and used their high-paid marketing power to convince Oregonians with any possible argument that they tested and knew would work.