This week, OHP clients and providers became part of a Coordinated Care Organization in eight areas of our state. On Sept. 1, five more CCOs will be launched and most OHP clients will be served through these new integrated health plans.
This represents an amazing series of accomplishments over about six months since the passage of the legislation that launched CCOs.
And last week in Portland, the new CCOs and community stakeholders gathered for a meeting with Governor Kitzhaber to begin discussions about how they will implement the person-centered health care model. Hundreds of people came together and I know there will be many more such conversations in the future. You can read more about the summit here.
This month brings the beginning of that change. It will not happen overnight, but given how many new CCOs are starting to operate, I believe we are well on our way to creating a better and more affordable health system for patients, providers and the public.
Getting to this point has taken an unprecedented effort on the part of all those involved in establishing CCO's, as well as OHA staff. The timelines have been rapid, the demands immense.
In addition to passage of the legislation, we received fast approval of our federal waiver and a commitment from the federal government to invest in a transformed health system. In April, we began accepting the first round of applications from interested Coordinated Care Organizations.
And here we are today. On September 1 we estimate more than 80 percent of those on the Oregon Health Plan will get their care through CCOs. I cannot thank enough the members of the OHA staff and our CCO partners who have been working so hard over the past several months to begin fulfilling the vision of better health, better care and lower costs for the Oregon Health Plan. But while those thanks cannot be given enough, I will say it one more time – thank you. Please know that the work you are doing now will reverberate through the days, months and years to come, making a true difference for our clients, their families, and our state. |
