Kaiser Permanente and Regence BlueCross BlueShield are virtually tied for the role of largest health insurance plan in the state, with a difference of fewer than 60 members as of June 30, according to reports filed Tuesday with state and federal regulators.
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Kaiser had slightly more members than Regence BCBS as of June 30, according to financial reports filed this week, but Regence posted slightly larger profits.
Aug 16 2017
CEO George Brown, who plans to retire this year, made $2.3 million in pay and benefits in the most recent reported year.
With over 12,000 employees and assets of over $1 billion, Legacy Health is a powerhouse among Oregon healthcare providers.
Aug 11 2017
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Pat Allen, the leader of the Department of Consumer & Business Services, was called Wednesday to put out fires at the Oregon Health Authority after Lynne Saxton resigned amid a communications scandal. Gov. Kate Brown turned to a familiar face on Wednesday to become interim director of the Oregon Health Authority, Pat Allen, the well-respected director of the Department of Consumer & Business Services, which regulates health insurance among other responsibilities. Aug 18 2017 |
Patrick Allen oversees the state insurance division, including the state health insurance exchange. He will serve as Lynn Saxton's interim replacement.
Oregon Department of Consumer and Busness Director Patrick Allen has been named acting director of the Oregon Health Authority by Governor Kate Brown, effective Sept. 1. Aug 16 2017 |
 Proponents of HB 3355, including Providence Health & Services, failed to persuade the governor that the bill had adequate patient safeguards if psychologists were allowed to expand their scope of practice to prescribe medications to their clients. Governor Kate Brown carried out her veto threat of House Bill 3355 on Tuesday, quashing a collaborative, time-consuming effort to find a narrow means of expanding the shortage of skilled psychiatric prescribers by enlisting specially trained psychologists to prescribe medications in a clinical se Aug 16 2017 |
A million or more people could swell the state’s population during the Aug. 21 event, stressing rural health services, and creating sanitation risks. Health leaders across Oregon are bracing themselves for a massive influx of people later this summer, when a total solar eclipse can be viewed across a wide swathe of the state. There’s no simple template to prepare for the Aug. 21 event. Jul 18 2017 |
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Medicare launched a website aimed at helping families choose a hospice — but experts say it doesn’t help very much. Aug 18 2017 |
Check out our other great jobs from Children’s Center, Reed College, National University of National Medicine, FamilyCare Health, and more. Quest Center for Integrative Health – a multidisciplinary non-profit health clinic helping people nurture a healthy body, mind, and spirit through wellness-focused education, treatment, and community – is seeking candidates for a Behavioral Health Therapist (QMHP) for their soon to be opened Ceda Aug 18 2017 |
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Gov. Kate Brown recently ordered the Public Employees Benefit Board to hire a wellness manager. At the insistence of Sen. Betsy Johnson, the board opted to delay the expansion of one wellness program until the new hire has a chance to comprehensively determine which programs best improve health. Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, spurred the Public Employees Benefit Board to think more seriously about cost containment at a meeting Tuesday, and the board agreed to slow down the approval of wellness programs until new staff could take a more comprehensive look. Aug 16 2017 |
If President Donald Trump were to follow through on his threats to cut federal cost-sharing subsidies, health insurance premiums for silver plans would soar by an average of 20 percent next year and the federal deficit would rise by $194 billion over the next decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Aug 16 2017 |
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Ely Sanders-Wilcox, sexual health and school health specialist with the Oregon Department of Education, has joined the panel. Tickets are going fast for Oregon’s Health Forum’s breakfast on August 23 that takes an in-depth look at breaking down the barriers between K-12 education funding and healthcare dollars. Aug 8 2017 |
Gov. Kate Brown announced a rare veto on Tuesday. She plans to spike a bill that would allow a limited number of psychologists to prescribe medications for mental disorders. Gov. Kate Brown has threatened to veto House Bill 3355, which would allow psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications, but a trio of legislative healthcare leaders who work to pass the bill are still hoping to change her mind. Aug 11 2017 |
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A Vancouver, Washington, company reports improvements to the culture -- and the bottom line -- after the company’s workers took control. Employee ownership may seem like a strange model for the healthcare industry, but a small number of companies have made the switch - and they say it’s helping to improve their recruitment and retention. Aug 10 2017 |
Condemnation was widespread across the state of a communication plan the Oregon Health Authority developed to discredit FamilyCare, a Portland-area coordinated care organization. Lynne Saxton is being forced out of the Oregon Health Authority by Governor Kate Brown amid a flurry of criticism surrounding a communication plan by the agency that sought to discredit one of its nonprofit Medicaid partners. Her last day will be Aug. 31. Aug 8 2017 |
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The Eugene area and Tillamook County will now have a choice between Providence and Moda on healthcare.gov, after Moda Health initially declined to sell plans on the exchange. Most consumers will have three or more options in Oregon in 2018, but not most counties, as rural areas will typically have just two choices. Douglas and Lincoln counties will have only Providence. Eugene consumers will have more than one option on the healthcare.gov online marketplace next year after all, after state regulators were successful in persuading Moda Health to sell plans in Lane County next year, as well as Tillamook County on the Coast. Aug 8 2017 |
A draft of the deal released this week would scrap the medical device tax and the employer mandate for businesses with fewer than 500 workers. At the same time, it supports re-establishing up to $15 billion a year for reinsurance to help carriers with the costliest patients, and would guarantee cost-sharing assistance for working-class adults. U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., has been at the center of discussions in Congress to pass bipartisan legislation this fall that aims to prevent the collapse of the individual healthcare market, as well as the online marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. Aug 3 2017 |
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Earlier this month, Lori Coyner stepped down as the state’s Medicaid director. The Lund Report has learned that yet another high-ranking official has left the Oregon Health Authority. Jul 28 2017 |