February 2, 2011

Oregon's Action Plan for Health

In 2009, the Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Health Policy Board and charged it with creating a comprehensive health reform plan for our state. Oregon's Action Plan for Health meets that charge by laying out strategies that reflect the urgency of the health care crisis and a timeline for actions that will lead Oregon to a more affordable, world-class health care system.

The Health Systems Transformation Team, chartered by the Oregon Health Policy Board at the request of Governor Kitzhaber, will develop a common vision and guidance for planning a new, integrated health and services delivery system for Oregon's Medicaid programs, which can then be built upon for broader statewide markets. The aim of the plan is to better coordinate all benefits for our Medicaid clients -- including physical health, mental health and addiction services, oral health, long-term care and social support services -- through more integrated care.

The urgency comes from the budget situation in which rising caseloads, reduced revenues, and the loss of one-time federal funds means that the Oregon Health Plan is facing serious reductions. The team will meet every Wednesday between February 2 and early April.

Oregon Health Authority Reaches Out to Oregonians
January 25, 2011 -- The citizen-led Oregon Health Policy Board delivered the "Action Plan for Health" to Oregon lawmakers last month, laying out a comprehensive health reform plan for the state. The Action Plan was crafted after a year public outreach, including six community meetings around the state that drew in more than 850 people...

Voices of Health Reform
Jim Houser, an Oregon small business owner and a member of OHA's Health Insurance Exchange Consumer Advisory Group, discusses how small business owners like him are getting immediate relief from tax credits. The health reform law provides tax credits for small businesses that offer employees health insurance.

Contest asks youth for ideas to fight childhood obesity
Saturday's kickoff also included a keynote speech by Gov. John Kitzhaber. Kitzhaber, a former emergency room physician, stressed that good health is dependent on the day-to-day decisions and not the health care system. "I think it's this kind of grassroots initiative that's going to play a huge role in solving the larger crisis in the U.S. health care system,"
he said.

Roseburg health care providers get input on proposed statewide electronic medical records plan
In Oregon, HITOC is trying to best figure out how it can trade information, as the group says the state is already ahead of the curve …Doctors, like Steve Gordon, Vice President and Chief Quality Officer of PeaceHealth Administration, say they want to put an end to repeated testing and patient misinformation passed around in health care facilities offices. "A patient said to me once, "you know I went to my doctor's office, I didn't feel well, they did a test, they saw something they didn't like, I went to the emergency department at the doctor's instructions and an hour later, they repeated the exact same test in the emergency department," says Dr. Gordon. "The information hadn't flowed."

The Oregon Health Policy Board's other committees are on hold until after the Health Systems Transition Team's work is completed.

The next Oregon Health Policy meeting will take place Feb. 8, 2011.

Connect with us: Use Facebook.com/OregonHealthAuthority and Twitter.com/OHAOregon to find out about OHA events, public input opportunities, transition updates, and federal and state health reform news.

Send input and comments to OHPB at ohpb.info@state.or.us
View calendar of health reform meetings

The Oregon Health Authority is the organization at the forefront of lowering and containing costs, improving quality, and increasing access to health care in order to improve the lifelong health in Oregon. The Oregon Health Authority is overseen by the nine-member citizen Oregon Health Policy Board working towards comprehensive health and health care reform in our state.