Oregon’s Public Employees Benefit Board debated a number of changes to its health package on Tuesday, attempting to keep costs under control without cutting benefits as the age of high medical inflation has returned.
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As medical inflation spikes back up to 6 to 7 percent a year after a lull linked to the recession, PEBB is having trouble keeping inflation at 3.4 percent, forcing benefit cuts, and calling into question the state’s ability to keep costs down purely through better coordination of care.
Apr 18 2018
The judge ordered the Oregon Health Authority to release documents related to coordinated care organization rate setting, though the legal dispute is far from over.
FamilyCare inched one step forward last Friday in its years-long series of legal disputes with the Oregon Heal
Apr 11 2018
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The Oregon Health Care Association is picking sides in the May 15 Democratic primaries, giving money to veteran Sen. Rod Monroe and supporting Lane County Medical Society director Marty Wilde for an open seat in Eugene. The GOP is trying to fend off a candidate who has disparaged Jews and Muslims in its Eugene nomination. The Oregon Health Care Association has waded into the 2018 primary season, supporting Marty Wilde, one of two Democrats battling to replace outgoing Rep. Apr 20 2018 |
The health benefit plan for teachers gave more than $10 million in incentives to members over the past four school years but was hampered in its attempts to verify whether the Healthy Futures program made members healthier or saved money. The Oregon Educators Benefit Board spent $10.5 million on a wellness program its advisors now say didn’t show results in improving the health of its members, and OEBB had no way of knowing if it saved money on medical costs. Apr 20 2018 |
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Led by a Portland-based researcher, a new study digs into the cost of care across different cancers and populations. The rising cost of cancer care, with new drugs priced at $100,000 or more a year, worries policymakers and analysts concerned about the high healthcare bill in the United States. Apr 20 2018 |
Growing up, M.J. Dunne spent weekends with her dad Tom. Tom didn’t always have a stable address. For a while, he lived in the closet in the back of a Portland barber shop. But he loved her, and they were close. Apr 20 2018 |
 Doctors Jay Hess, Laura Roberts and Danny Jacobs will each visit the university at public forums between now and the end of April. Oregon Health & Science University has named the three finalists to replace President Joe Robertson, who last fall announced he would retire at the end of this academic year. Apr 16 2018 |
 His was hired after a nationwide search, and announced his departure after only 13 months on the job. Barely a year after taking a job as CEO of Oregon Health & Science University’s healthcare operations, Mitch Wasden has resigned. Apr 18 2018 |
 All three finalists for the OHSU president’s job have been asked to deliver remarks on the same topic. Dr. Hess presented Wednesday, and the other finalists will be in Portland to present next week. OHSU staff and faculty got their first up-close view Wednesday of Dr. Jay Hess, one of three finalists vying to replace retiring President Joe Robertson. Apr 18 2018 |
Naloxone, which is a drug that can keep drug users alive by reversing opioid overdoses, is viewed by many as the cornerstone of the harm-reduction. When Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory calling for more people to carry naloxone — not just people at overdose risk, but also friends and family — experts and advocates were al Apr 18 2018 |
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Come check out our other great jobs from Outside In, Planned Parenthood, Western Institute of Nursing, Clackamas Volunteers in Medicine, and more. Oregon Rural Action is a force for progressive public policy and grass-roots democracy in Oregon. ORA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to promote social justice, agricultural and economic sustainability. Apr 20 2018 |
 Andrew Stolfi, who was hired in December, plans to reassess the state’s geographic insurance rating system, with an eye to increasing access in rural Oregon. He previously worked at an international insurance body in Switzerland and before that led the Illinois Department of Insurance. Andrew Stolfi, Oregon’s newest insurance commissioner, started far afield from insurance, finance and health plans. Apr 13 2018 |
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The former director of the Department of Consumer & Business Services balked at the idea that there was any secret plan to crush defunct CCO FamilyCare. He also said neither he nor Gov. Brown have any interest in enacting Medicaid work requirements desired by conservative states. Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen came on the job seven months ago amid a furor over the treatment of one of the state’s largest Medicaid plans, the last in a string of problems that doomed his successor. Apr 11 2018 |
By the time Ann Marie Owen turned to marijuana to treat her pain, she was struggling to walk and talk. She also hallucinated. Apr 12 2018 |
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This panel discussion, sponsored by Oregon Health Forum, will be held April 27. What’s being done to tackle how our social and emotional environment impact health outcomes? Apr 11 2018 |
 Public health professionals gathered in Portland April 2-6 to discuss closing the health equity gap in state’s underserved and unrepresented communities Best practices, next steps, challenges and successes were discussed during Oregon Public Health Week from April 2-6 in Portland. Apr 10 2018 |
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The death rate from opioids continues to increase across the United States. But in Oregon, it has actually decreased over the past few years — by as much as 25 percent. So, what's Oregon doing differently? Apr 10 2018 |
The public board that guides Oregon Health Authority policy is making progress on multiple fronts, but may need action from the Legislature to meet the state’s healthcare goals. The jugglers on the Oregon Health Policy Board kept their balls in the air on Tuesday as they explored a raft of issues facing the state: expanding and supporting the healthcare workforce; making Medicaid more effective throug Apr 5 2018 |
 The board tried to avoid cuts to teachers’ health benefits by encouraging them to shift to coordinated care, by cutting administrative costs and by offering more catastrophic plans, but some small benefit cuts were enacted for the next school year. The Oregon Educators Benefit Board approved a list of creative solutions to keep the health benefits for the state’s teachers below the caps mandated by the Legislature. Apr 4 2018 |
On Friday, April 27, the Oregon Health Forum will host a panel discussion, “The Impact of Social Determinants on Health Outcomes,” in Portland. Apr 20 2018 |