Members of the Portland area’s major coordinated care organizations, Health Share of Oregon and FamilyCare, are generally happy with the treatment they receive from doctors and other providers on their plans. They feel respected by their physicians and by health plan customer service. But the sickest patients at each plan sometimes report worse results than the healthiest.
Those are among the experience revealed by the two CCOs’ “Banner Books,” the label given to a series of 340-page documents that assess the state of Oregon’s Medicaid-funded health plans. Commissioned by the Oregon Health Authority, these documents take an in-depth look at how members feel about the care they’ve received. It’s a different evaluation tool than the profit and revenue reports that The Lund Report has reported on the past, focusing on how well each health plan works for patients seeking care.
In this third story in a The Lund Report examination of the survey results, we are looking at how adult members of the Portland area’s two major CCOs say their health insurance measures up. We started the series with a look at AllCare Health and in part two we looked at three CareOregon affiliated CCOs.
In the coming weeks, we’ll look at the same surveys at the state’s other CCOs, and will conclude this series by comparing their performance to see if some CCOs rate considerably better or worse than others.
Health Share of Oregon
The state’s largest CCO, Health Share of Oregon serves more than 240,000 people in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties.
On most metrics, Health Share’s members reported experiences similar to patients at other CCOs across the state. For example:
- 82 percent said it was usually or always easy to get the care, tests or treatment they needed.
- 93 percent said their doctor usually or always explained things in a way that was easy to understand.
- 92 percent said the health plan’s customer service treated them with courtesy and respect.
But there were two areas where HealthShare was different than the average of all CCOs in the state – and in both cases, it performed better than average:
- 46 percent of HealthShare members said they had received a flu inoculation in the past six months, compared to 37 percent of all CCO members statewide.
- Just 49 percent of tobacco users said their health provider never discussed quitting with them, compared to 57 percent statewide.
Survey results also looked at how each CCO’s healthiest patients answered questions different than its sickest patients. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those whose health is generally good, and who likely need less care, reported a better experience than those who are in fair or poor health – a result that HealthShare shared with most other CCOs.
Of its members in good health, 74 percent said their doctor explained things in a way that was easy to understand; 94 percent said their doctor listened carefully to them; 81 percent said their primary care doctor showed respect for what they had to say; and 76 percent said they could definitely trust their doctor or other healthcare provider with their medical care.
Of its members in fair or poor health, 65 percent said their doctor explained things in a way that was easy to understand; 89 percent said their doctor listened carefully to them; 72 percent said their personal doctor showed respect for what they had to say; and 67 percent said they could definitely trust their doctor or other healthcare provider with their medical care.
When asked how often their medical provider made it easy to ask questions and raise concerns, 67 percent of men said always or usually, compared to 80 percent of women.
FamilyCare
Based in the Portland area, FamilyCare serves about 130,000 CCO members in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties, plus parts of Marion County.
On most metrics, FamilyCare’s members reported experiences similar to patients at other CCOs across the state. For example:
- 91 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 there were areas where FamilyCare was different than the average of all CCOs in the state.
On several survey questions, its members described care that lagged what other CCOs provide:
- 74 percent said it was usually or always easy to get the care, tests or treatment they needed. (80 percent of all members of Oregon CCOs said the same thing.)
- 27 percent said they had received a flu inoculation, whereas 37 percent of all members of Oregon CCOs gave the same answer.
But on other questions, FamilyCare members described better care than what people received at other CCOs in the state:
- 84 percent of people who had seen a specialist said that person was one of the best specialists possible. (78 percent of all members of Oregon CCOs said the same thing.)
- 69 percent said it was usually or always easy to get the medical equipment they needed. (63 percent of all members of Oregon CCO said the same thing.
As with most CCOs in Oregon, FamilyCare’s members report differences in experience between whose health is generally good and those who are in fair or poor health.
Asked how they would rate all the healthcare they’ve received in the last six months on a scale of zero to 10, when zero being the worst possible and 10 the best possible, 70 percent of members in good health gave a top score of 8, 9 or 10. Only 55 percent of members in fair or poor health also gave a top score.
Of people in good health, 75 percent said they had one of the best personal doctors possible. Only 65 percent of members in fair or poor health felt the same.
Asked how often a doctor or other health provider interrupted while they were talking, 99 percent of people in good health said never or sometimes; 89 percent of people in fair or poor health said never or sometimes.
And 96 percent of people in good health, compared to 80 percent of people in fair or poor health, said their doctor was never sarcastic, condescending or rude.
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.
