The Lund Report

Bay Area, OHSU Hospitals Trail in Safety Scores

October 29, 2012 -- Add customer savvy to the lengthy list of resources Oregonians might need when they face hospital care. A survey of U.S. hospitals details infection and other risks posed by even the most “routine” hospital stays.

Oct 29, 2012

Regence/Cambia Investment Spending on IT Tops $400M

October 25, 2012 -- It seemed like a good idea at the time. With healthcare costs rising, insurance plans from across the Northwest thought they might be able to save money by sharing resources. By 1997, Oregon’s BlueCross BlueShield had merged with BlueShield of Washington and other “Blues” plans from Utah and Idaho to become The Regence Group. Headquartered in downtown Portland, soon the new company had set its tech team to work at integrating its multiple lines of business.

Oct 25, 2012

Southwest Community Health Center Focuses on Uninsured

October 25, 2012 -- For seven years, the Southwest Community Health Center – nestled in the heart of southwest Portland's Multnomah Village – has served Portland's uninsured, with no restrictions on age, income or neighborhood. Forty percent of patients travel to the neighborhood from outside southwest Portland – some from as far away as Troutdale or Woodburn – but the majority of patients live in the southwest quadrant.

Oct 25, 2012

On The Move Program Raises Its Head Again Christen McCurdy Tue, 10/23/2012 - 16:40

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Lincoln City Physician Forced to Transfer 95 Miles, Then Fired

October 23, 2012 -- A Lincoln City physician’s abrupt transfer and firing highlights a statewide issue of unilateral authority that health plan administrators have when reassigning or laying off physicians. Samaritan Health Services initially reassigned Dr. Robert Oksenholt, one of Lincoln City’s most popular and long-serving physicians, to Lebanon, which is more than a two-and-a-half-hour drive to the southeast.

Oct 23, 2012

Public Education Employees Shed Thousands of Pounds

October 22, 2012 -- Oregon public education employees have lost nearly 200,000 pounds in a 20-month period that began in October 2010 after the state added free Weight Watchers classes as a benefit, an administrator for the Oregon Educators Benefit Board (OEBB) told The Lund Report. Joan M. Kapowich, who also administers the Public Employees’ Benefit Board, said those workers lost over 175,000 pounds since the free weight loss classes became part of their benefits in 2009.

Oct 22, 2012

Up to 200,000 Oregonians Could Still be Uninsured in 2019

October 19, 2012 -- A 2010 report published by the Oregon Office of Health Policy Research estimates that 35 percent of currently people lacking insurance would remain uninsured by 2019, despite expanded coverage by the Affordable Care Act.

Oct 19, 2012

Merkley Counters Claim by Romney about Demise of Obamacare

October 17, 2012 -- In a political season where the stakes for the presidency are so high, it’s not unusual for candidates to exaggerate their promises as many analysts have pointed out. Take the statement Mitt Romney made by saying that if elected he’d repeal Obamacare on his first day in office.

Oct 18, 2012

Dembrow Intends to Keep Single Payer Movement Alive Next Session

October 18, 2012 -- Despite the emphasis on healthcare transformation, evident by the $1.9 billion in federal funds that Governor John Kitzhaber garnered to implement coordinated care organizations, the single payer movement isn’t dead in Oregon. Its champion, Rep. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) plans to re-introduce the same legislation again next February. In 2011, it received a hearing in the House but stalled there (House Bill 3510).

Oct 18, 2012

Fluoridation Referendum Leaves Decision in Voters' Hands

OPINION – October 17, 2012 -- There is one main benefit of Clean Water Portland's successful signature-gathering campaign to qualify for a city-wide referendum vote on fluoridation: It allows time for citizens to make an informed decision.

Oct 17, 2012