oregon health authority

Sen. Alan Bates plans to meet with Gov. Kate Brown as a controversy has erupted over the revised 2015 payments to coordinated care organizations that cut the Medicaid program rather than give the organizations the 3.4 percent increase promised. The state’s order to FamilyCare that it return 9 percent of its current revenues -- $55 million -- would wipe out its profit for the year, and put it on rocky footing going forward. Rep. Mitch Greenlick agreed with some of the calculations but argued that the rates for the Medicaid expansion were more arbitrary and could threaten the CCOs’ ability to innovate and transform the delivery system.

Lynne Saxton, who appeared at yesterday’s Health Policy Board meeting, also indicated she’s been meeting with CCO leaders to discuss rates for 2016.

The agency-wide restructure is expected to deliver better results.

House Bill 3100 directs the Oregon Health Authority to develop a plan through 2025 to detail how each corner of the state will be able to provide basic public health for its residents.

The administrator of the Oregon Health Authority spoke to public health officials about modernization efforts.

Jeff Heatherington is urging legislators to pass Senate Bill 833 so similar problems can be avoided when rates are set for coordinated care organizations in subsequent years.

Sen. Chip Shields was unsuccessful in his attempts to block anti-trust immunity to CCOs and long-term care facilities, but now, with the backing of the FTC, he’s trying to stop granting similar protections to health insurers discussing primary care payment models. Supporters of the primary care collaborative say it will encourage the healthcare industry to cough up information in a joint effort to reform the payment structure.