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About OSPIRG Foundation

OSPIRG Executive Director Dave Rosenfeld stands up for Oregon consumers, to lower health care costs and watchdog unjustified health insurance premium increases. 

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH & EDUCATION

OSPIRG Foundation is an independent, non-partisan group that works for consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education and outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.

OUR MISSION

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, OSPIRG Foundation offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. OSPIRG Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation.

OUR TOP PRIORITIES

Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing and litigation, OSPIRG Foundation stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

STANDING UP FOR THE PUBLIC ON HEALTH CARE

As our leaders put the health care reform law into practice, we’re working to promote a more competitive health insurance marketplace that lowers costs for consumers. 
 

 

PUTTING PUBLIC HEALTH AHEAD OF BIG AG

One in three school-age kids are overweight or obese, yet our government is wasting $16 billion each year on subsidies for sugar-laden, high-fat foods.  
 

 

CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES

Corporate tax dodgers cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. That’s why OSPIRG Foundation is working to close the loopholes that allow ExxonMobil, Bank of America and others to shift profits overseas to avoid paying their taxes. 
 

 

 

THE FEDERATION OF STATE PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUPS

OSPIRG Foundation is an independent, state-based, citizen-funded organization that advocates for the public interest and is a member of U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal office in Washington, D.C. On national issues that impact our state, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact — here at home and for the country at large.

OSPIRG Foundation Staff
OSPIRG Foundation is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, OSPIRG Foundation speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest. Find out more about our staff

What's New

News Release | OSPIRG Foundation | Health Care

Oregonians Need Better Information on Health Care Costs

Oregon consumers are paying more and have less ability to make informed decisions about their health care due to opaque prices for health care services, according to a report released today by OSPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the power of price transparency to contain costs and improve the experience of care for patients and health care providers, and identifies evidence-based policies and strategies for Oregon to advance health care price transparency. 

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group | Health Care

Improving Price Transparency

Opaque and unavailable prices for health care services violate the basic consumer right to know in advance about the price of goods or services. When consumers are asked to make decisions about care without access to meaningful price information, they are unable to make informed decisions in high-stakes situations that can profoundly affect their future health and financial security. Improving the price transparency of health care services isn’t just about fulfilling a basic consumer right – it is also a critical step in diagnosing and addressing the high cost of health care. 

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News Release | OSPIRG Foundation

As Electric Cars Revolutionize the Vehicle Market, New Study Helps Cities Address Infrastructure and Parking Challenges

With electric vehicles (EVs) hitting U.S. streets in record numbers, a new study by OSPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group highlights best practices to help local officials make their cities as EV-friendly as possible. The new report, “Plugging In: Readying America’s Cities for the Arrival of Electric Vehicles,” includes local and state data for Eugene and Oregon about the projected number of electric cars expected on the road in coming years, and how cities can accommodate these new EVs with enough places to park and recharge. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

More Info On Our Testing Methodology for Asbestos in Makeup

Claire’s Stores Inc. incorrectly claims that our testing methods are unsound. Its accusations are misinformed at best, and seem to be designed to distract from the bottom-line: that Claire’s is selling makeup that contains asbestos to preteens.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Public Health

In Your Face

The negative health effects of asbestos are well-known. Most people may associate asbestos contamination with the workplace or decades-old construction material, but alarmingly, recent media reports have found asbestos contamination in kids' makeup from popular stores. PIRG decided to do its own asbestos testing at an accredited laboratory.

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News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Agency votes to begin rulemaking process to protect American children, firefighters from hazardous flame retardant chemicals

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took three critical steps toward protecting consumers and firefighters from the hazards posed by a class of flame retardant chemicals (known as “organohalogens”). The CPSC directed the Commission’s staff to begin the rulemaking process to ban the sale of four categories of consumer products if they contain these chemicals. Once again, the CPSC has made an important action for consumers.

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News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Statement on Unilever Starting to Disclose Fragrances via SmartLabel

Statement from OSPIRG Foundation Toxics Advocate Dev Gowda on Unilever Starting to Disclose Fragrances via SmartLabel

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News Release | Consumer Protection, Safe Energy

Texas Chemical Explosions: More Safety Needed Now

Two small explosions last night at a Texas chemical facility highlight that comprehensive emergency regulations need to be enforced more strictly at chemical plants.

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News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Statement on P&G’s Consumer Product Fragrance Disclosure Announcement

OSPIRG Foundation applauds consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, the maker of brands like Olay, Old Spice, and Pampers, for its announcement today that it will increase fragrance ingredient transparency in all of its consumer brands.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation and Citizens for Tax Justice | Tax

OFFSHORE SHELL GAMES 2015

U.S.-based multinational corporations are allowed to play by a different set of rules than small and domestic businesses or individuals when it comes to the tax code. Rather than paying their full share, many multinational corporations use accounting tricks to pretend for tax purposes that a substantial portion of their profits are generated in offshore tax havens, countries with minimal or no taxes where a company’s presence may be as little as a mailbox. Multinational corporations’ use of tax havens allows them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Democracy

BOOSTING THE IMPACT OF SMALL DONORS

Candidates in the 2016 presidential race would see a dramatic shift in their fundraising, and have a powerful incentive to focus more on small donors under a proposed small donor public financing system, according to a new study released by OSPIRG Foundation.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Health Care

Comments on PacificSource Health Plan's proposal to raise individual health insurance rates

PacificSource Health Plan members with individual health insurance plans will see rate hikes of 42.7% on average, and as high as 60.4%, if the premium rate hike proposed by PacificSource goes forward. PacificSource’s increase is the largest proposed by a major health insurance carrier in Oregon’s individual market since 2010, when new rules heightening scrutiny of health insurance rates were implemented.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Health Care

Comments on Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon's proposal to raise individual health insurance rates

Regence BlueCross BlueShield’s membership of more than 24,000 Oregonians with individual health insurance plans will see rate hikes of 12.3% on average, if the premium rate hike proposed by Regence goes forward. Some Regence members in transitional plans that will be discontinued at the end of the current year, which do not include the consumer protections of the federal health reform law, may see increases of up to 235% if they stick with Regence.

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Blog Post | Health Care

Tax Season and Health Care: What You Need to Know | Jesse Ellis O'Brien

Tax season is here, and many Oregonians may have questions about new tax forms and provisions, including health premium tax credits and the new requirement to purchase health insurance. Here’s what you need to know.

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Blog Post | Health Care

Open Enrollment: Here’s What You Need to Know | Jesse Ellis O'Brien

The countdown is on for enrolling in health insurance for 2015. With all of the changes coming to health care in Oregon, it’s more important than ever to get the facts about what’s happening and how you and your family can get coverage that works for you. Here’s our guide to Oregon’s open enrollment period, which starts November 15.

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Blog Post | Health Care

Health Insurance Rates for 2015 Announced Today | Jesse Ellis O'Brien

Today, the Oregon Insurance Division—the state’s insurance regulator—announced its decisions on health insurers’ rate proposals for next year. These decisions come after OSPIRG Foundation’s in-depth analysis raised numerous questions about some of the larger proposed rate increases.

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Blog Post | Health Care

The Whole Shebang at a Glance: Proposed Health Insurance Rates for 2015 | Jesse Ellis O'Brien

Here’s the skinny on OSPIRG Foundation’s new analysis of 2015 rates proposed by four Oregon insurers—Moda, PacificSource, United and Health Net. There’s some good news, some concerning news, and some very concerning news, but the best news of all is that thanks to Oregon’s health insurance rate review process, the insurers don’t get the last word.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Top Ten Ways the CFPB Can Help You

See our new resource about the top ten ways the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is helping consumers.

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