Oregon legislature 2014

Big Tobacco Investment in Oregon Legislators Pays off in 2014 Session

America’s largest tobacco company made a big investment in Oregon legislators before the 2013 session and walked away with a legislative victory when a bill died on the Senate floor that would have sent unclaimed money from class-action lawsuits into an account for legal services for the poor.

Mar 14, 2014

What Really Happened Between Kotek and FamilyCare about OHSU Bond Measure

Oregon Health & Science University secured $200 million from the state it said it needed to move ahead with the Phil Knight Challenge for cancer research, but House Speaker Tina Kotek got chewed up in a failed attempt to resolve a dispute over whether the tertiary hospital would agree to accept all Medicaid patients, even those from FamilyCare, with which OHSU is locked in legal battle.

Mar 7, 2014

Dealmaking Clem Forges Compromise on Marijuana Dispensaries

Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, has put forward a compromise that will clear the way for local municipalities to bar medical marijuana dispensaries from their domains for a year while they prepare to develop policies to regulate incoming outlets. The dispensaries gained state sanctioning last year through House Bill 3460.

Mar 5, 2014

Oregon House Passes Cover Oregon Reforms on 56-2 Vote

Update: This article has been updated to reflect the passage of HB 4122 and SB 1582, as well as decisions from the federal government regarding changes in health insurance policy. Rep. Betty Komp, a Woodburn Democrat and the House Speaker Pro Tempore, added a personal touch as she explained the need to make Cover Oregon work.

Mar 5, 2014

Medical Equipment Exchange Bill Passes House

House Bill 4108 helps to coordinate existing programs to exchange lightly used durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs. The House also passed the bill to study the basic health plan and another bill aimed at youth suicide prevention.

Mar 4, 2014

Legislature Eyes Shifting Money from the Health Authority to DHS

The Legislature has found the money to bridge the $101 million gap in funding for the Department of Human Services by reallocating surplus funds from the Oregon Health Authority. Before the session, DHS Director Erinn Kelley-Siel reported to a group of legislators who oversee her agency’s budget that the Department of Human Services faced a $101 million budget gap due to a number of factors such as increased labor costs, higher-than-expected case rolls and a 2 percent holdback in funding placed on the agency by the Legislature.

Feb 27, 2014

Budget Committee Greenlights Public Guardian, Home Care Expansion

Two important bills that are meant to improve the health of senior citizens won financial backing from a legislative budget committee Wednesday, one creating a public guardian program for vulnerable people and the other allowing people without Medicaid to hire a caregiver from the state home care registry.

Feb 27, 2014

Oregon Senate Frees Small Businesses to Offer Self-Insured Health Plans

The Senate voted Tuesday to make it easier for small businesses to provide self-insured health coverage for their employees, eliminating a barrier that kept those employers from buying stop-loss coverage.

Feb 26, 2014

Conger Gets Two Amendments Approved Casting Daylight on Cover Oregon

Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, agreed with two amendments from Republican Rep. Jason Conger of Bend on Monday that aim to provide the public with more daylight into the operations of Cover Oregon.

Feb 25, 2014

Silver Alert Bill Passes Legislature, Protecting Missing Seniors

The Silver Alert bill requires police agencies to develop policies to find and assist seniors with dementia who get lost. The bill also orders the Oregon Health Authority to more proactively ward against Medicaid fraud. Several other bills passed the House Friday, including a bill to codify equipment testing protocol for dentists and one that will study giving parents the option of subsidized private insurance instead of the Oregon Health Plan for their children.

Feb 24, 2014