Health care company CareOregon has joined the movement for $15 per hour minimum pay by setting that floor for its own hourly employees.
CareOregon insures 11,000 Medicare members and serves more than 240,000 Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) members through its affiliation with four Coordinated Care Organizations. It employs over 500 permanent staff members; most work from CareOregon’s Portland headquarters building.
“The social determinants of health, such as poverty, have a significant impact on overall health and well-being,” said Patrick Curran, CareOregon CEO. “More and more of our work is moving outside the medical domain into communities to help make positive changes in those social determinants. We support efforts to set a minimum living wage, and decided we should walk our talk.”
“We’re not expecting to make universal change overnight,” Curran said, noting that the number of CareOregon staff who immediately benefit from the change is not large. “But we would like to take a step in the right direction.”
For information, contact Jeanie Lunsford, 503-416-3626, [email protected].
About CareOregon
CareOregon is a nonprofit community benefits company that’s been involved in health plan services, reforms and innovations since 1994, serving Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) and Medicare membersand their communities. Our mission is cultivating individual well-being and community health through shared learning and innovation. Our vision is healthy communities for all individuals, regardless of income or social circumstances. We focus on the total health of our members, not just traditional health care. In teaming up with members, their families and their communities, we help Oregonians live better lives, prevent illness and respond effectively to health issues.
