Barney Speight

5/12/46-4/22/24

Copied from The Lund Report:

Most Oregonians now have access to health care in large part because of his efforts, and far fewer families experience the crippling burden of medical debt. The obituary posted by the Oregonian recounted Barney’s varied and deep professional experience in senior positions with the Oregon Medical Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and ODS/Moda. 

Most Oregonians now have access to health care in large part because of his efforts, and far fewer families experience the crippling burden of medical debt. The obituary posted by the Oregonian recounted Barney’s varied and deep professional experience in senior positions with the Oregon Medical Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and ODS/Moda. 

He was the executive director of the Oregon Health Fund Board, which laid out a comprehensive plan for addressing a broken health care system. The plan was aspirational and bold, developed in a time when one in six Oregonians were without health insurance coverage.