In this sixth story of a seven-part Lund Report examination of Oregon’s coordinated care organizations, we are looking at two smaller CCOs whose members report very different experiences. Western Oregon Advanced Health members say they are less happy than most CCO members in the state, while Willamette Valley Community Health members report the opposite.
These are among the details that have emerged from in-depth surveys that were commissioned by the Oregon Health Authority and published in 340-page analyses dubbed “Banner Books.” In this series we aim to look beyond the profit and revenue reports typically used to assess the state of Oregon’s Medicaid-funded health plans. Instead, we are focusing on how well each health plan works for patients seeking care.
We started these stories with a look at AllCare Health, continued with three CareOregon affiliated-CCOs, then examined the two CCOs operating in the Portland area, in part four we looked into Trillium, Umpqua Health Alliance and PacificSource’s two CCO plans, and last week we examined Cascade Health Alliance, Eastern Oregon CCO, InterCommunity Health Network and Primary Health of Josephine County.
This week we focus on Western Oregon Advanced Health and Willamette Valley Community Health. The final story in this series will take a step back, to look at big-picture trends revealed in our CCO-by-CCO analysis.
Western Oregon Advanced Health
Western Oregon Advanced Health serves over 20,000 people in Coos and Curry counties.
On some metrics, its members reported experiences similar to patients at other CCOs across the state:
- 74 percent said it was usually or always easy to get the care, tests or treatment they needed.
- 87 percent said their doctor usually or always explained things in a way that was easy to understand.
- 93 percent said the health plan’s customer service treated them with courtesy and respect.
But in a number of areas, Western Oregon Advanced Health members seemed less satisfied with their care than members of other CCOs:
- On a scale of zero to 10, 56 percent gave Western Oregon Advanced Health a top score of 8, 9 or 10, when asked to rank their experience against the best and worst care possible; statewide, 67 percent of CCO members gave the same response.
- 68 percent said they had one of the best doctors possible, compared to 76 percent of CCO members statewide.
- 67 percent said they could always or usually get an appointment to see a specialist as soon as needed, compared to 75 percent of members of all Oregon CCOs.
Women and men reported slightly different experiences at Western Oregon Advanced Health:
- 89 percent of men said their doctor always or usually spent enough time with them, and 94 percent said their doctor or provider was never condescending, sarcastic or rude.
- 78 percent of women said their doctor always or usually spent enough time with them, and 91 percent said their doctor or provider was never condescending, sarcastic or rude.
It’s possible that men reported a better experience because they were healthier to begin with: 75 percent of the CCO’s male members described themselves as being in good, very good or excellent health, compared to 62 percent of female members.
At most Oregon CCOs, healthier patients were happier with their care, with sicker patients raising more complaints. But at Western Oregon, only 65 percent of the healthiest patients gave their personal doctor a top score, compared to 74 percent of less healthy patients.
It’s worth noting that in some areas, it was impossible for surveyors to draw conclusions about the experiences of Western Oregon members. Not enough people responded to questions about access to specialized therapy and about access to medical equipment to yield statistically significant results, for example.
Willamette Valley Community Health
Willamette Valley Community Health was created after the Affordable Care Act passed to serve members in Salem and its surrounding communities.
On most metrics, its members reported experiences similar to patients at other CCOs across the state:
- On a scale of zero to 10, 71 percent gave Willamette Valley a top score of 8, 9 or 10, when asked to rank their experience against the best and worst care possible.
- 79 percent said it was usually or always easy to get the care, tests or treatment they needed.
- 92 percent said their doctor usually or always explained things in a way that was easy to understand.
- 87 percent said the health plan’s customer service treated them with courtesy and respect.
In several areas, Willamette Valley Community Health members reported experiences better than those of most Oregon CCO members:
- 87 percent reported their personal doctor usually or always seemed up-to-date about the details of care they had received from other providers; statewide, 79 percent of CCO members said the same.
- 83 percent of Willamette Valley Community Health members said they could usually or always got an appointment with a specialist as soon as needed, compared to 75 percent of all CCO members across Oregon.
- Only 30 percent had to wait to see a dentist after a dental emergency, compared to a 37 percent statewide average.
As with most CCOs, in several areas Willamette Valley’s healthiest members reported a better experience than its less healthy members
Of members in excellent, very good or good health: 93 percent said health plan forms were usually or always easy to fill out; 77 percent said their doctor never spoke too fast.
Of members in fair or poor health: 83 percent said health plan forms were usually or always easy to fill out; 64 percent said their doctor never spoke to fast.
As with Western Oregon Advanced Health, in some areas, it was impossible for surveyors to draw conclusions about the experiences of Willamette Valley Community Health members. Not enough people responded to questions about access to specialized therapy and about access to medical equipment to yield statistically significant results, for example.
Courtney Sherwood investigates public records and digs into data for The Lund Report. Reach her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @csherwood.
