Success in creating the new vision for the Oregon Health Plan will depend on bringing together the best thinking in our state and tapping into the innovations that are already happening at the local level. We also need to work hard to ensure that the public and everyone involved gets good information about what these changes might mean for them, their loved ones and our state.
To that end, as we have done in the past, the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Health Policy Board are hitting the road for a series of statewide community meetings.
The first meeting is coming up soon in Roseburg on September 26 at Umpqua Community College. The next evening we will be in Medford at the Santo Community Center. All the meetings will run from 6 to 8 p.m.
After southern Oregon we will head to Pendleton, Florence, Bend, Portland and Astoria.
You can see the complete schedule with the locations and addresses at health.oregon.gov. There you will also find a flier to help us spread the word. Please forward it to anyone you think will be interested in attending. If people cannot attend in person, we will have a means for them to provide feedback online.
These meetings are happening concurrently with the ongoing work group meetings that bring together 133 people from around the state to work out details of the Coordinated Care Organizations. I'm not sure I have ever been involved in a process that gives the community so much opportunity to weigh in.
That's how we do things in Oregon. And it's how we will succeed in creating a new vision for the Oregon Health Plan that truly works for everyone for better health, better care and lower costs. |
