Oregon Health Authority Health eNews | Updates from the Oregon Health Policy Board
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JUNE 27, 2012

In this month's edition of Health News from OHA and OHPB:
New Coordinated Care Organizations approved to provide health care for Oregonians
Important information for Oregon Health Plan Clients and Providers
CCOs not affected by Affordable Care Act
Oregon Health Policy Board welcomes Brian DeVore as newest board member
Home health visits keep Grants Pass man out of the hospital
Health transformation in the news
Stay Involved
Upcoming Oregon Health Policy Board meeting

New Coordinated Care Organizations approved to provide health care for Oregonians

The first Coordinated Care Organizations have been certified to begin serving local communities in Oregon on August 1, 2012.

“I am proud of the way the Oregon health care community has come together to create a more patient-centered and sustainable health care system,” said Governor John Kitzhaber. “We are on our way to fulfilling our vision for Oregon for a more effective, efficient health system.” 

CCOs are the foundation of Oregon’s vision to improve care, achieve better health and lower costs. Under bi-partisan state legislation passed earlier this year, CCOs will be able to deliver care in new ways. Key to CCOs will be the ability to coordinate mental and physical health care and focus on prevention. CCOs will also provide support to patients with chronic conditions, ensuring that they are taking appropriate medications and managing their appointments.

Additional CCOs are expected to be certified and begin serving OHP members on September 1, October 1 or November 1, 2012.

You can read the full news release on www.health.oregon.gov.

Important information for Oregon Health Plan Clients and Providers

As new Coordinated Care Organizations start, OHP clients and providers may have questions.

Here are some key points:

  • Benefits are not changing. One of the most important things for clients to know is that their Oregon Health Plan benefits will not change when they are a member of a CCO. OHP will stay the same as it is today.
  • It isn’t happening all at once. Not everyone will become part of a CCO at once. They are forming at different times in different communities.
  • Notice in advance. As CCOs get up and running in local communities, OHA will send a notice prior to the change and will have staff on hand to answer any and all questions clients or advocates may have.

At health.oregon.gov you can find up-to-date CCO information including community meeting schedules, CCO fact sheets and FAQs, stories about coordinated care across Oregon, and much more. Check out the website, and feel free to print and distribute materials you find there.

You can also send questions and comments about the website to ohpb.info@state.or.us.

CCOs not affected by Affordable Care Act

As this bulletin is being sent out, the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the Affordable Care Act. No matter what the ruling, Coordinated Care Organizations will move forward. CCOs are a state-level reform put together by Oregonians. While the vision of coordinated care is in alignment with the ACA, it is not dependent upon it.

Oregon Health Policy Board welcomes Brian DeVore as newest board member

We are pleased to announce that Brian DeVore, Director of Healthcare Ecosystem & Strategy, has been chosen to fill the policy board seat vacated by Eileen Brady. Mr. DeVore is the ninth member of the Oregon Health Policy Board, joining fellow new appointee Dr. Carla McKelvey.

Mr. DeVore provides strategic guidance and oversees the national and local partnership efforts of Intel necessary to provide health care to its employees. He works with senior executives in the health care and technology industries as well as business and government leaders to drive care, payment and data changes necessary to deliver improved quality at a lower cost. In 2009, he was appointed by Governor Ted Kulongoski to be the employer voice on the Oregon Health Information Technology Oversight Council (HITOC) where he served until January 2012. He will bring a welcome and important perspective to the board.

Home health visits keep Grants Pass man out of the hospital

That’s the story of Stephen Calhoun, whose health care services were driven by emergencies and frequent trips to the hospital before he connected with a primary care team at La Clinica in Jackson County. State officials have recognized La Clinica as a Tier 3 Primary Care Home — the highest level — because of its commitment to patient-centered coordinated care. Primary care homes are a key to health transformation in Oregon, because they target chronic illnesses in time to prevent costly medical emergencies.
Today, with coordinated help from La Clinica, Calhoun feels better, is healthier, and goes to the hospital much less frequently. "I don't have any problem with the government having to put out less money because I'm spending less time in the hospital,” he says. "It's a win-win."
You can read more about Stephen Calhoun and find other stories like his in the OHA Newsroom.

Health transformation in the news:

Oregon Health and Science University
The large challenge of a CCO from a small town perspective
The challenges are different for CCOs in rural communities, including AllCare Health Plan, Inc., a CCO that will provide coordinated physical, mental and oral health for 23,000 Oregon Health Plan members in Southern Oregon.

Register Guard
[Supreme] Court ruling won’t kill state’s reform initiative
Oregon’s health transformation “will remain intact regardless of what the court decides on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.”

National Public Radio
Oregon’s Medicaid experiment represents a “defining moment”
Governor John Kitzhaber has convinced the federal government that he has a way to make Medicaid treatment better, and cheaper, by completely changing the way the sickest people in Oregon get health care.

Gazette Times
Reaching out a helping hand
Community Health Centers of Benton and Linn Counties cater primarily to uninsured and low-income residents using health navigator programs

Stay involved!
Connect with us: Use Facebook.com/OregonHealthAuthority and Twitter.com/OHAOregon to find out about events and public input opportunities, and to learn more about state and federal health reform news.

Send input and comments to OHPB at ohpb.info@state.or.us.

Stay involved!

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

Send input and comments to OHPB at ohpb.info@state.or.us.

Upcoming Oregon Health Policy Board meeting:

Tuesday, July 10, 2012
8:30 am – 12 pm
The Market Square Building
1515 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, OR 97201

OHA logo The Oregon Health Authority is overseen by the nine-member citizen Oregon Health Policy Board working toward comprehensive health and health care reform in our state.