There is a long history of animosity and mistrust in Klamath County between independent nurse practitioners and the local coordinated care organization, Cascade Health Alliance, which dates back more than two decades.
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Spurned by Cascade, independent nurse practitioners want to help solve the primary care backlog in Klamath County. Sky Lakes Medical Center contends that it has added the necessary providers to care for the 50 percent more enrollees who joined last year. This article is the first in a two-part series on healthcare in Klamath County.
Feb 27 2015
These penalties and rewards are a result of a measure known as value-based purchasing which CMS introduced to encourage hospitals to improve inpatient care.
Oregon hospitals fared well under Medicare’s value-based purchasing program, based on federal data of more than 3,500 hospitals.
Feb 18 2015
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Oracle, the much-maligned software company that failed to build a functional insurance exchange for Oregon, has threatened to stop Senate Bill 1 from taking effect, but the bill had broad bipartisan support in the House to move the remaining state insurance exchange functions to the Department of Consumer & Business Services. Ten Republicans joined all the House Democrats in Salem on Friday to send Senate Bill 1 to Gov. Mar 2 2015 |
The hospital assessment tax, used to leverage federal funding for the Oregon Health Plan, was first proposed in 2003 and has been renewed multiple times, often with heated debate. But this time, Republicans are signaling they’re on board for the new assessment. A four-year extension of the hospital assessment tax, which is used to fund the bulk of the state Medicaid program, appears headed for swift passage this session, without any of the partisan theatrics that have dogged previous extensions of the tax. Feb 26 2015 |
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Announcements are forthcoming about the latest self-insurer to sign up with ZoomCare, while expansion is underway in Portland, with plans to move into California and beyond. ZoomCare’s on the move and preparing to take on the big guys – Providence, Kaiser, Moda and the like. Yesterday’s announcement about its 28-site neighborhood health campus in Portland, is just the first hint of new developments. Mar 3 2015 |
Oregon’s Health Co-Op, which has struggled to get a foothold in the Oregon insurance market, has proposed legislation to provide insurers a better appeal process while requiring the Insurance Division to better explain its rate-setting decisions for plans sold on the individual and small business markets. The Oregon Health Co-Op wants significant changes to the state’s health insurance rate review program, which its president says will provide more transparency to the review process and a better chance for due process than currently exists. Mar 3 2015 |
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The proposed Oregon law would copy a Washington law on disclosure but then strengthen it to phase out hazardous chemicals in children’s products and replace them with safer alternatives. SB 478 maintains bipartisan support in the House and the increased Democratic majority should allow the bill to over-rule Sen. Betsy Johnson, a friend of the chemistry council who opposes the bill. Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer rolled out her Toxic-Free Kids Act for the fourth time in her four years as a legislator from Southeast Portland on Monday, and this time around, the increased Democratic majority may be what it takes to put one of her flagship issues into law. Mar 3 2015 |
Senate Bill 891, introduced today, would require Oregon health care facilities to post their prices and provide real-time price estimates for consumers on request. OSPIRG urges Oregon lawmakers to support new legislation introduced today in the Oregon State Legislature that will empower consumers to take personal responsibility for their own health care costs by improving access t Mar 3 2015 |
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The provocative Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. brought his vision of how healthcare will look in 30 years to the 21st Century Healthcare symposium at Willamette University. Thirty years from now, in the year 2045, a concierge will know your healthcare team, your medical condition and your values. Lower-skilled people aided with technology will get diagnoses right more often than doctors. Mar 2 2015 |
According to insiders, the Senate may have lacked the legal authority to move ahead, and there’s also speculation about whether Saxton is the right person for the job. Until two days ago Lynne Saxton had been expected to be confirmed by the Oregon Senate as the new administrator of the Oregon Health Authority. Then everything came to a crushing halt with the announcement by Senate President Peter Courtney. Feb 27 2015 |
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Given a new supermajority by voters, Senate Democrats continue to check off legislation that passed the more liberal House in 2013 but died in the Senate. SB 411 brings Oregon more in line with other states and allows injured people to use money from both parties’ auto insurance policies in case of an accident, but it will likely raise premiums slightly. The Oregon Senate passed a bill Tuesday aimed at giving people injured in car accidents a better guarantee that their medical treatment will be covered by auto insurance policies. Feb 26 2015 |
Now it's easy to share opportunities with friends in all your networks. Now this is some news you can use! Health Hires has added a very handy line of social media buttons to the bottom of each Health Hires job post, making it that much easier for you to share our latest jobs postings with your friends and followers on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google Plus. Feb 17 2015 |