Access & Quality

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The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Oregon’s landmark evidence-based coverage program is going away, but what’s next is unclear

For three decades the state has used public meetings and research to decide what services are covered under the Oregon Health Plan. Officials are deciding how to reorganize the program, but little has been shared publicly about their plans.

Jul 30, 2024
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PIXABAY

Ahmed Farag to be new Oregon dental director

Farag, a hospital system executive in New York, will oversee oral health policies affecting more than 1 million low-income Oregonians

Jul 25, 2024
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Providence Portland Medical Center. | M.O. STEVENS/CC BY 3.0/WIKIMEDIA

Providence, Legacy warn thousands of patients of possible exposure to hepatitis, HIV

A former Oregon Anesthesiology Group physician is suspected of having violated infection control standards, but so far the allegations have not been linked to any patient infections, authorities say

Jul 12, 2024

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Safety net clinic workers, including many in Multnomah County, provide needed medical care for marginalized populations, including people lacking shelter. | MULTNOMAH COUNTY/MOTOYA NAKAMURA

Washington safety net clinic chain battles for accreditation as doctors-in-training bolt

Sea Mar operates three dozen clinics, including in Vancouver, and says its medical residency program that helps train needed physicians has been decimated by a recent decision to withdraw accreditation

Jul 11, 2024
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Jonna Tallant, a longtime TMJ patient, displays a pile of medical records and billing documents at her home in Knoxville, Tennessee. She has spent a small fortune on TMJ treatment over three decades, but remains in agony and is unable to eat solid food. | BRETT KELMAN/KFF HEALTH NEWS

‘A bottomless pit’: How out-of-pocket TMJ costs drive patients into debt

Treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders, a condition that is often disabling, is typically not covered by insurance although the condition afflicts as many as 33 million Americans, most of them women.

Jul 11, 2024

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The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

New free health care program to cover about 100,000 Oregonians

New ‘OHP Bridge’ state coverage will cover people who earn too much to qualify for the Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan starting July 1

Jul 1, 2024
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SHUTTERSTOCK

State needs to spend $850 million on behavioral health beds over five years, report says

Inpatient psychiatric care gaps fuel racial and geographic disparities, according to an OHA-contracted study

Jul 1, 2024

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The Behavioral Health Resource Center at 333 SW Park Avenue in Portland on Nov. 16, 2022. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

County health and social services contracts need better oversight, auditors say

Multnomah County's contract oversight practices need revamping to ensure people are getting the services they need, according to a report issued by Auditor Jennifer McGuirk. County officials say they're working on it.

Jun 27, 2024
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State Behavioral Health Director Ebony Clarke said she thinks the state needs to be audacious and bold when it comes to improving care for low-income Oregonians. | SCREENSHOT, OREGON HEALTH FORUM

Oregon behavioral health fissures add costs and block access, panel says

Oregon's notoriously fragmented system spawns administrative tasks and barriers at the expense of patients and providers, according to a panel of experts who spoke Wednesday

Jun 26, 2024
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A room inside the Recovery Works NW's new withdrawal management facility on Southeast Foster Road in Portland, Ore. Most rooms are limited to two beds. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

Behavioral health access, language barriers persist, new report finds

Low-income Oregonians still don’t have enough mental health and substance use treatment providers, and patients who need interpreters too often don’t get them, an independent state advocate reports

Jun 25, 2024