An Opportunity To Set Groundbreaking Healthcare Policy

Schoon plans to use her professional experience to guide the board on the most effective ways to secure public feedback on the proposal, both during the development stage and if it is referred to the ballot, and designing long-term plans for ongoing public engagement as the system is implemented.

“My expertise is in how you go beyond things that are recognizable, like focus groups and town halls, to methods that engage the public in real substantive decision-making. How do you engage the public in real substantive decision-making?” said Schoon, who also sits on the board of directors for the nonprofit Health Care for All Oregon. “I am really excited to help build a system where Oregonians can say, ‘This was built for us and our needs. And this is here to support my health and build my trust.’”

Public engagement will be critical in educating voters on the benefits of the proposed plan. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 62% of U.S. adults believe it is the role of government to provide healthcare coverage, but opinions on a single-payer system or expanding current models, like the Affordable Care Act, remain mixed.

“We need to build infrastructure where Oregonians’ voices are part of determining what the system ends up looking like,” Schoon said.

Fostering Discussion

While nearly 100 countries, including Canada, Mexico and most of Europe, have adopted some form of universal healthcare, the concept is a politically charged topic in the United States. Schoon does not shy away from that fact in her public health classes.

When teaching about universal healthcare, she makes it clear that she does not expect students to support the concept, but to understand the rationale for it and the trade-offs in both a universal healthcare system and the current system in the U.S. In doing so, Schoon hopes to foster a spirit of civil discourse and a desire to learn.

“Students are desperate, I believe, to better understand how to unlock the kind of political impasse that we see a lot in our nation right now,” Schoon said. “How do we talk about important issues in ways that don’t just lock people into their preexisting corners? I try to use my classes to build those skills as well. The class is on universal healthcare, but we don’t shy away from people’s fears and questions around it.”

To that end, Schoon asks students to consider others’ opinions and questions alongside their own. In one of the first assignments in her Universal Healthcare class, she asks students to interview people about their understanding, opinions and fears about universal healthcare.

Schoon believes that it is important to understand divergent opinions and discuss them openly in the classroom, where perspectives can be different than what students see on social media or hear at the dinner table at home.

“To have a space where you can look at the evidence, look at data, ask questions, and turn things over from all sides, I think that’s important for students to experience, and even for me to experience,” she said.

Along with discussions about universal healthcare, Schoon believes her class provides tangible real-world knowledge for students who have never navigated the complex U.S. healthcare system. Many don’t understand how co-pays or deductibles work, or why a pre-authorization is needed for some services.

The more knowledge that Schoon can provide her students, the more prepared they will be to navigate the healthcare system — or perhaps change it.

“A topic like this is hard. It is complicated. It is difficult to understand all of the parts,” Schoon said. “It’s really a privilege to be able to have a role in helping translate complex knowledge that is going to impact people’s lives.”