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Patrick Allen. | COPYRIGHTED IMAGE REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

CareOregon merger draws opposition from former top Oregon health official

On the eve of a key state recommendation, Patrick Allen, the Oregon Health Authority's former director, said he hasn't seen a 'compelling argument' that Oregonians' interests are served by CareOregon's proposed merger into a California-based entity. The nonprofit Portland-based insurer oversees care for 500,000 low-income members of the Oregon Health Plan.
Jan 12, 2024
Linn County Alcohol and Drug Prevention Specialist Shannon Snair leads a LifeSkills Training class at Scio Middle School in Scio, Ore., Nov. 16, 2023. The class is one of the most research-supported substance use prevention curricula in the country. | KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING/FOR THE LUND REPORT

Most Oregon kids don’t get science-backed drug prevention

A statewide analysis reveals that among the state’s 197 public school districts, substance use prevention programs often lack scientific support and can be little more than a chapter in a textbook
Jan 11, 2024
CareOregon. | COURTESY OF CAREOREGON

Q&A: CEOs defend CareOregon merger plans, balk at specifics

Leaders of a California-based Medicare Advantage plan called SCAN Group and CareOregon, the Portland-based insurer that oversees government-funded care for 500,000 low-income Oregonians, said criticisms of their proposed merger don't recognize its benefits or the risks of inaction. The companies haven't disclosed long-term plans due to antitrust rules, they said — but growth is the goal.
Jan 9, 2024
Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, on Nov. 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Feds' threat to decertify state hospital over safety is not the first

Inspectors fault state hospital for adopting bad policies and then not following them, as well as unlocked doors and unsupervised patients. State leadership say they're addressing the issues.
Dec 14, 2023
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How meth is sabotaging Oregon's behavioral health system
SHUTTERSTOCK

Read our two-part series about how — despite a windfall of new funding — the state has no plan to address the 'new meth' that is overwhelming behavioral health providers and inflaming ongoing crises across the state. 

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State inaction left Oregon teens vulnerable to fentanyl’s fatal spread
A student at Harmony Academy, a high school for teens in recovery, told The Lund Report he didn't realize he was smoking fentanyl until his parent had him tested. He thought the pills he was buying were oxycodone. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

A lack of prevention, education and youth addiction programs opened the door to tragedy as dealers added the potent opioid to local drug markets

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