State Health Policy

OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Continuing ONE benefit eligibility flubs primarily stemmed from human error, auditors say Premium

A new look at the state’s historically troubled $416 million eligibility system found that enrollment and benefit errors during the pandemic largely were not the fault of its automated processes, providing counterpoint to the state's earlier record in costly IT projects

Oct 10

The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Oregon Health Authority again tabs a Washington, D.C. veteran for high-level post

Clare Pierce-Wrobel, an adviser for the White House Domestic Policy Council, will join the Oregon Health Authority to head its health policy and analytics work

Oct 10
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Emma Sandoe, Oregon's new director of Medicaid, will oversee care for 1.4 million low-income people in the Oregon Health Plan. She's shown speaking last week at the annual conference of CCO Oregon, a trade group focused on the regional care entities that manage Medicaid in the state. | COURTESY CCO OREGON

New Oregon Medicaid Director Emma Sandoe readies for challenges

Bearing a national health policy reputation, the new manager of the Oregon Health Plan will have to adapt to a very different program after working in North Carolina

Oct 8
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THE LUND REPORT ILLUSTRATION/SHUTTERSTOCK

New Oregon data raises a $287 million question on drug prices

Hefty rebates on drug costs went to insurers and employers but some critics say they’re actually making costs go up, not down

Oct 8
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Rep. Travis Nelson, a nurse, speaks at a conference held by CCO Oregon, on Wednesday in Salem as Rep. Lisa Reynolds, a physician, listens. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon lawmakers share plans for 2025 session

Key state legislators agree that there are a lot of needs, and figuring out what to focus on is the challenge up next as the long session looms

Oct 2
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Oregon was one of eight states and the District of Columbia, which saw fatal drug overdoses rise as the they fell in the rest of the country, according to federal data released in August 2024. | SCREENSHOT/CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

Overdoses killing more Oregonians as national figure drops

The western spread of fentanyl continues to fuel regional variations in the number of people dying from drug overdoses, and Measure 110's effects remain debated

Oct 1

Warren George, a retired business consultant from Corvallis, has been a longtime advocate for a single-payer health care system. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Key member of Oregon universal health board, Warren George, resigns

The business consultant had been a source of hope for advocates; he cites the board’s overreliance on staff as well as his desire to spend more time with his wife

Sep 26
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The OHSU Center for Health & Healing Building 2 in the South Waterfront neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, on July 25, 2020. | SHUTTERSTOCK

OHSU, Legacy submit long-delayed paperwork for proposed merger

The two health systems want to form a 10-hospital Oregon health care powerhouse, and now state regulators will consider whether the idea makes sense for patients and employees

Sep 26
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Rachel Prusak, executive director of the Oregon State Board of Nursing, speaks to the Oregon Behavioral Health and Health Care House on Sept. 23, 2024, about efforts to improve her agency's responsiveness to people seeking licenses. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Delays, poor service at Oregon health licensing boards being addressed, lawmakers told

A nursing board call center is helping responsiveness, but other agencies report mixed results as one lawmaker seeks to plug workforce gaps with out-of-state professionals

Sep 24
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The front desk of ARCHES Inn in Salem, a hotel turned shelter that is operated by Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action. The facility offers wildfire survivors, as well as chronically homeless and medically fragile people a short-term stay. Settings like this could be part of addressing delays in hospital discharges in Oregon. | COURTESY/MID-WILLAMETTE VALLEY COMMUNITY ACTION