A working paper by Dr. Eric Fruits uses the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections to estimate the incidence of sexual activity among survey participants. In contrast to the self reported incidence of sex, Dr. Fruits finds that almost two-thirds of survey participants engaged in some form of sexual activity. In other words, approximately one in four survey participants who did not report any sexual experience are likely underreporting their activities.

Eric Fruits writes in Oregon Business that one part of the crisis has been the rising cost of health care and health insurance. For years, the cost of health care has outpaced inflation. In turn, the costs of health insurance have risen rapidly, taking a toll on businesses and their employees. Another part of the crisis is the number of uninsured. Last year, Oregon’s governor tried to sell voters a huge tobacco tax increase by pointing to an estimated 117,000 uninsured children in Oregon. These parts of the crisis are related and were born out of the growth of the third-party payer system of covering health and medical costs.