Oregon hopes to turn state Medicaid Program into Public Option.

Ever since Pres. Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, states, insurance companies, and health care provider groups have all made reforms that never would have happened otherwise. So to criticize Obama, or threaten to repeal the reforms is so irresponsible that it really is breathtaking. If the Republicans get their way, were back to where we were and worse.

Here's just another example of change, that came about because Obama decided to challenge the status quo:

Ezra Klein: Health policy wonks should keep an eye on Oregon, where Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) has just signed legislation that could lay the foundation for a state-level public option. The legislation is Senate Bill 1580. Right now, it focuses on delivery reform, changing the way that doctors who serve Oregon Medicaid patients get paid. It pushes them to establish new provider groups -- called “coordinated care organizations” -- to serve some of the state’s most costly patients. The idea is that by focusing on prevention, reducing emergency room use and paying doctors for the quality of the care they provide, Oregon can curtail rising Medicaid costs.

But that’s only phase one. The hope is, if this does succeed in bringing down health care costs, other Oregonians can also start enrolling in the newly reformed Medicaid program. As Kitzhaber told me late last year, the next step would be to allow public employees into the Medicaid program. That would create something that looks a lot like a public option -- one that might be up and running right around the same time that the health reform law’s insurance exchanges launch in 2014.