rural health

Rural Oregon Losing Dentists

Few new graduates find rural areas appealing because of their debt load
November 10, 2011--The days of selling a private dental practice in rural Oregon are coming to an end, in part, because of the overwhelming debt faced by new graduates. Read More >>

PEBB Increases Cost Sharing to Plug Budget Hole

Mid-year plan design changes take effect April 1
March 8, 2011 -- The Public Employees Benefit Board voted unanimously last week to increase cost-sharing to its 127,000 members beginning April 1. Read More >>

Harker Proposes Legislation to Ease Primary Care Shortage

House Bill 2400 would appropriate $3.1 million, which would assist 9-12 rural healthcare providers
February 16, 2011 -- It’s no secret that Oregon faces a shortage of primary care physicians. However, loan repayment and forgiveness could go a long way toward closing the primary care gap, according to doctors, advocates and debt-laden medical students. Read More >>

Free Care at Oregon Hospitals Tops the Charts

Reducing costs and freezing pay was the only saving grace in a year that tested Oregon hospitals financially
December 8, 2010 -- Oregon hospitals provided more than $1.1 billion in uncompensated care in 2009, close to 14 percent more than the year before and the highest amount ever for the state’s 57 acute care facilities, based on the latest financial figures released this week by the Oregon Office for Health Policy and Research. Read More >>

Medicare Advantage Changes Strike Rural Oregon Hardest

Private Medicare plans are beginning a precipitous withdrawal from the state of Oregon
October 14, 2010 -- The 25,000 Oregonians forced to change health coverage in coming months because their Medicare Advantage plans are going away likely represent just the tip of the iceberg. Read More >>

Rural Mental Health Shortage Reaches Legislators

Kathy Moon, a nurse practitioner in Reedsport, brings this issue before the House Human Services Committee on Sept. 22
September 16, 2010 -- Kathy Moon never thought she’d become the voice for rural Oregonians suffering from mental illness. But as a nurse practitioner working in the small town of Reedsport, she’s become acutely aware of the lack of services for this vulnerable population. Read More >>

Family Physicians Seek $6 Million for Loan Repayment

The legislative proposal would provide funds for rural practitioners throughout Oregon
August 11, 2010 -- It’s not news that Oregon faces a shortage of primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas. Recruiting new physicians to family care -- frequently with longer hours and lower pay than other specialties -- has always been a challenge, but is even more difficult in a less than stellar economic climate. Read More >>

State Backs Away From Mail Order Pharmacies

The change would have impacted 115,000 Medicaid clients
April 21, 2010 -- Mandates are never swallowed easily, particularly when they defy the status quo. State officials learned that lesson when they attempted to change the way Medicaid clients get their prescriptions filled. Read More >>

Rural, Urban Poor Docs Offered Renewed Loan Guarantees

Oregon Office of Rural Health receives federal grant to help rural providers
February 24, 2010 -- The Oregon Office of Rural Health at Oregon Health & Science University has received a grant from the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) to help primary care providers in rural and underserved urban areas repay their loans. Read More >>

Access to Healthcare Still Rough for Oregon Troops

Soldiers and their families continue having a hard time finding a doctor who accepts TRICARE, the federal insurance program tied to Medicare
Brig. Gen. Mike Caldwell
June 5, 2009 --Healthcare access issues in rural Oregon facing military service members are close to crisis proportions, said Brigadier Gen. Mike Caldwell, deputy director of the Oregon Military Department. Read More >>
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