City Club Forum to Spotlight Health Care Access in Lane County
The City Club of Eugene will host a public conversation about health care in Lane County and across Oregon at noon on Friday, December 5, at the WOW Hall. The free event will bring together a state lawmaker, local physicians, and a health policy researcher to examine access, cost, delivery, and the effects of consolidation on local communities, and it will be livestreamed with a later rebroadcast on KLCC 89.7 FM.
The City Club of Eugene will convene a forum on Friday to address pressing health care challenges facing Lane County and the state. The program begins at noon at the WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave., and is free to attend. The event will be livestreamed and later rebroadcast on KLCC 89.7 FM, offering multiple ways for residents to engage.
State Representative Nancy Nathanson will introduce the session. Nathanson has sponsored legislation related to the health care workforce and the corporate practice of medicine, topics that intersect with provider shortages and the growing influence of corporate entities on clinical decision making. The program will feature Dr. Antonio Tony Germann, vice president of the board for Health Care for All Oregon and a rural family medicine physician, who brings frontline experience from underserved communities. Dr. Nick Jones, a family physician and founder of Clear Health Direct Primary Care in Eugene, will share perspectives from a local practice that emphasizes patient centered access. Hayden Rooke Ley, a senior fellow at Brown University School of Public Health, will present research on corporate consolidation in health care and its effects on cost and competition.
Organizers say the discussion will focus on improving access to care, addressing rising costs, and rethinking delivery models to better serve diverse communities in Lane County. For local residents, the conversation is timely. Rural clinics and community practices continue to report workforce gaps, patients face affordability barriers, and consolidation among health systems and insurers can reduce choices for patients and employers. The panel brings together practice level experience, advocacy viewpoints, and policy research to connect those challenges with possible solutions.
The City Club frames the event as part of its mission to explore significant public issues and help form approaches and solutions. For residents who cannot attend in person, the livestream and KLCC rebroadcast will provide access to the full conversation. The session offers an opportunity for Lane County voters, health workers, and community groups to hear firsthand about proposals and tensions shaping health care policy at the local and state level.
