inside the industry

PEBB Moves Forward With Three Budget Cut Options

The decision about benefit changes for state employees is now in the hands of the unions and the legislature
April 19, 2011--The Public Employees’ Benefit Board decided on Tuesday to move forward with the three funding scenarios it’s been considering for the last two months, leaving it up to the unions and the legislature to identify the best route to make cost-saving plan design changes and close PEBB’s gaping budget hole. Read More >>

PEBB Must Make Deeper Cuts to State Employee Benefits

The full list of health benefit reductions will be decided at the board’s next meeting on April 19
April 12, 2011 -- To stave off financial catastrophe, members of the Public Employees’ Benefit Board realized last Monday that they’d have to make even deeper cuts to the healthcare benefits of state employees and their dependents than they had earlier imagined. Read More >>

Salem Hospital Announces Changes to Hospitalist Program

The changes come from recommendations made by a consulting firm, according to Norman Gruber, president and CEO
April 12, 2011 – Salem Hospital has implemented changes to its hospitalist program based on recommendations from a consulting firm that’s been advising the hospital on how to restructure its Willamette Health Partners (WHP) program. Read More >>

Hospital Provider Tax Could Temper OHP Cuts

Talks begin with hospitals to increase tax to draw down more federal dollars
April 7, 2011 -- Discussions are expected to begin next week on a plan to increase the hospital provider tax as a way to reduce the proposed 19 percent reimbursement cuts to the Oregon Health Plan. Read More >>

Scope of Practice Bill Sidelined by Sponsor

Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham) will work on this bill with stakeholders “in the interim” between the 2011 and 2012 sessions
April 7, 2011—A bill that would create a more streamlined process for scope of practice changes is being tabled so legislators can focus their energy on more pressing healthcare transformation issues. Read More >>

Retired Medical Professionals Could Volunteer During Emergencies

Senate Bill 563 would allow medical professionals to volunteer without licensure or certification
April 6, 2011—Legislation sponsored by Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) would allow retired medical professionals to provide volunteer medical services during governor-declared emergencies without requiring licensure or certification. Read More >>

Central Oregon, Mid-Valley IPAs Strike Accords with OCHIN

April 6, 2011 -- As part of its ongoing effort to deliver high quality healthcare, the Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA) has merged its electronic health record subsidiary, known as Central Oregon Electronic Medical Records (COEMR), with OCHIN Inc., a national HIT organization headquartered in Portland. Read More >>

Contested Rate Increase Heads to Appeals

Oregon Insurance Division defends process past and present
March 31, 2011 -- The Oregon Court of Appeals will revisit today one of the largest health insurance rate increases to hit Oregon consumers, a 26 percent average hike on Regence individual plan holders nearly three years ago. Read More >>

Oregon Monitors Radiation Levels from Japanese Reactor

Dr. Richard Leman says there’s no danger of the radiation affecting Oregonians
March 29, 2011 -- Oregon’s Public Health Division has been monitoring radiation levels in Oregon since March 13, one day after an explosion at the Japanese nuclear reactor plant affected by the 8.9 earthquake that struck northern Japan. Read More >>

DHS Investigation Claims Top Administrators

James Toews and Cathy Cooper step down after program mismanagement revealed
March 18, 2011 -- The state’s top two administrators for the Division of Seniors and People with Disabilities have lost their jobs in connection with an investigation into a federal grant program that helped transition seniors from nursing homes to residential settings. Read More >>
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