Rep. Bynum and the AFSCME members cited rising health care costs and the uncertainty surrounding premium increases as the concerns they hear most from Oregonians.
OREGON CITY, Ore. — Democratic Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, joined by members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), hosted a press conference to address rising health care costs Saturday.
“People have told me over and over and over again that healthcare was their No. 1 issue,” Bynum said. “They wanted to make sure that we had a strong healthcare system, that kids had medicine when they needed it and they could go to the doctor when they needed it and they weren’t going to suffer a medical bankruptcy.”
As open enrollment begins Saturday for Affordable Care Act (ACA) renewal, some are seeing steep increases in their health insurance costs.
Steven Kang works for Oregon City and is the local resource contact for AFSCME members. He said he’s seen the rises firsthand.
“There was an initial quote that we got that our premiums were going to go up 19%,” Kang said. “We got that down to 8 or 9%.”
He said people have reached out to him nervous about the increases.
“People are terrified,” Kang said. “There are working families that have children or spouses, or they themselves are fighting a very important medical battle, and they don’t know what they would do if they can’t afford the premiums, if they can’t afford the treatments, and they want to make sure that they can protect their family.”
Bynum said what is also troubling are the cuts to Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which are in jeopardy due to the government shutdown.
“This is not play money or play food,” Bynum said. “This is real nutrition.”
On Friday, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute SNAP benefits as soon as possible after the Trump administration refused to, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture stating on its website that the benefits will be suspended Nov. 1, saying, “The well has run dry.”
President Donald Trump responded the order, posting on Truth Social, “I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible” and continued, “It will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”
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Bynum said she’ll believe it when she sees it.
“Talk is cheap,” Bynum said. “The federal government should move the money immediately and make states whole.”
In the meantime, multiple local businesses are offering free meals to people who have lost their SNAP benefits, which you can find listed here. One business includes Heretic Coffee, which has raised over $300,000 as of Saturday to provide the community with free meals, with people donating from as far away as Norway.
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