Health care in the United States—and right here in Eugene--is facing cascading crises.

• Americans spend $14,570 per person on healthcare—more than any other developed nation—yet our health outcomes lag behind. In Oregon, health care costs exceed spending on housing, food, or transportation.
• Large insurance conglomerates and private equity investors are buying up medical practices, prioritizing profits over patient care. Physicians in these corporatized settings lose control over their practice, leading to moral injury and burnout.
• 10,000 people in Eugene now lack a primary care provider following UnitedHealth’s purchase of Oregon Medical Group.
• $1 trillion in federal cuts to Medicaid and food assistance will directly impacting 1 in 3 Oregonians and over half the children relying on the Oregon Health Plan.
• 1 in 8 Americans carries medical debt exceeding $10,000. In the United States, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, a person can go bankrupt by medical debt.

It’s time for a change. If not now, when?

Join Dr. Antonio Germann, family physician and vice president of the board for Healthcare for All Oregon; Dr Nicholas Jones, Direct Primary Care physician and founder of Clear Health DPC, and Health Law and Policy Expert, Hayden Rooke- Ley, J.D., in a discussion on health care transformation in Oregon. With the recent passage of SB 951 that addresses the corporatization of medicine, discussion of reform in the Medicaid system, the movement toward a Universal Health Care Plan legislation in Oregon, and the groundswell of interest in the Direct Primary Care healthcare delivery system, Oregon is meeting the current
healthcare crisis, head on.

State Rep. Nancy Nathanson represents House District 13, North Eugene. She has served inthe House of Representatives since 2007, and prior to that the Eugene City Council for 12 years. Rep. Nathanson currently chairs the House Committee on Revenue and as Co-Chair for the Joint Committee on Information Management and Technology. In the 2025 legislative session, Rep. Nathanson sponsored and passed bills to prohibit non-compete agreements for health care providers and rein in corporate practice of medicine, to shore up Pharmacy Benefit Management regulation; and direct state agencies to streamline criminal background checks for health and human services workers to reduce onboarding delays. Rep. Nathanson also helped secure funding for the Lane County Stabilization Center, Northwest Youth Corps, two additional judges for the Lane County Circuit Court, and Clear Lake Road infrastructure for industrial economic development.

Guests:

Dr. Antonio (Tony) Germann is a family physician centered in rural primary healthcare, clinical health education, and public health. Currently he is medical director of Salud and Pacific pediatrics clinics of the Yakima Valley Farm Workers clinic system. Dr. Germann is the founder of the Salud Rural Maternal Child Health Fellowship which prepares family physicians for practice in a rural/underserved settings through advanced training in obstetrics, surgical obstetrical skills, management of neonatal complications, and gynecologic procedures. Dr. Germann enjoys advancing the development of primary care clinicians and has served as a clinical assistant professor and affiliate faculty at OHSU School of Medicine/Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Germann is a member of the Oregon Health Policy Board since 2023. OHPB is responsible for many of the state’s major health systems including Medicaid, Oregon State Hospital, public health, behavioral health, the Public Employees Benefit Board and Oregon Educators Benefit Board.

Dr. Nick Jones is a family physician and founder of Clear Health Direct Primary Care (DPC) in Eugene. Originally from Texas, Dr. Jones moved to Oregon in 2020 to work at Oregon Medical Group (OMG). In 2023, he left OMG to start Clear Health DPC. Dr. Jone’s mission is to harness innovative technology to enhance personalized, affordable, and accessible healthcare through a direct primary care model. His vision is to build a community that has access to the healthcare they need, when they need it. Dr. Jones believes it is important to “teach before we treat, treat patients not problems; with open ears, open minds, and open hearts”.

Hayden Rooke-Ley is a Senior Fellow at the Brown University School of Public Health and the American Economic Liberties Project. His research focuses on corporate consolidation in health care, Medicare and Medicaid financing, and labor and workforce issues in the health sector. He has published in leading journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and advises state and federal policymakers, enforcement agencies, and other health care stakeholders. Previously, he served as a health policy advisor in Congress and worked at Aledade. He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, clerked for the U.S. District Court for the District of
Oregon, and is a licensed attorney in Oregon.

About the City Club of Eugene:
The mission of the City Club of Eugene is to build community vision through open inquiry. The Club explores a wide range of significant local, state, and national issues and helps to formulate new approaches and solutions to problems. Membership is open to all, and Club members have a direct influence on public policy by discussing issues of concern with elected officials and other policy makers.

The City Club’s mailing address is PO Box 12084, Eugene, OR 97440, and its website is cityclubofeugene.org.

Video and Broadcast:
This program will be livestreamed, and will be available on the City Club of Eugene’s YouTube channel.
Rebroadcasts and recordings will be available the Monday immediately following the program at 7:00
pm, on KLCC 89.7 FM and available later as an episode on City Club’s podcast.

Visit cityclubofeugene.org for links and details.
Contact: Betsy Pownall, 541-285-1953; betsy327@comcast.net