Oregon Health Authority Health eNews | Updates from the Oregon Health Policy Board
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AUGUST 8, 2012

In this month's edition of Health News from OHA and OHPB:
Eight Coordinated Care Organizations up and running, five more certified for Sept. 1
Coordinated Care Organization Summit kicks off new CCOs
10-year plan: Healthy People
Mosaic Medical, Patient-Centered Primary Care Home, coordinates care for patients
In the news

Eight Coordinated Care Organizations up and running, five more certified for Sept. 1

On August 1 the first Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) began serving Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members. The Oregon Health Authority also announced that five new CCOs will begin serving members in September.

In total, 13 Coordinated Care Organizations will serve 33 counties across the state and nearly 500,000 adults and children – the majority of OHP members – starting on Sept. 1.

Coordinated Care Organizations will have the flexibility to provide patients with more patient-centered, coordinated and preventive health care. Research shows that 80 percent of health care costs are driven by 20 percent of patients, many with chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and serious mental illness. CCOs will have the ability to hire community-based health workers to help people manage their conditions, ensure they are taking appropriate medications, and avoid unnecessary acute or emergency care.

"In Oregon we are showing that it is possible to build a health care system around patients and their providers for better health and reduced costs," said Governor John Kitzhaber. "These new Coordinated Care Organizations will be leading the way for everyone in our state."

Read the full news release, and visit www.health.oregon.gov for more information on CCOs.

Coordinated Care Organization Summit kicks off new CCOs

Two hundred people from around Oregon came together in Portland last week at a CCO Summit hosted by Governor John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Health Authority. Governor Kitzhaber and Donald Berwick, M.D., the former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, were keynote speakers at the summit. The gathering was a chance to applaud the hard work done to get Oregon to this point and to commemorate the start of Coordinated Care Organizations.

Governor Kitzhaber, a former emergency room physician, called Oregonians "pioneers and explorers" for moving beyond the status quo to create a better health care delivery system even in the face of budget shortfalls.

Dr. Berwick, who spoke after the Governor, praised Oregon for its bold undertaking, saying that the nation will be watching. "The goals are clear," he stated. "Better health, better care and lower costs."

Summit attendees included representatives from Coordinated Care Organizations, state lawmakers, and health care stakeholders and advocates from across Oregon. Participants discussed collaborative ideas and suggested areas where the state could be most helpful as Oregon transitions toward Coordinated Care Organizations.

10-year plan: Healthy People

Governor John Kitzhaber has asked all state agencies to create a 10-year budget plan that is committed to creating positive change now for a better Oregon in the future. Oregon's 10-year plan for health sets a large but simple goal: "Oregonians are healthy and have the best possible quality of life at all ages."

In that budget plan, key strategies that fall into the OHA budget include:

  • Fundamentally changing how health care is delivered in Oregon.
  • Shifting resources to focus on prevention of chronic disease.
  • Ensuring access to sufficient, nutritious and affordable food for all Oregonians.

As we work to build the 2013-2015 budget, we want to hear from you. You can find more information about the OHA 10-year budget plan here and offer feedback about priorities for the budget by taking an OHA survey. We’re taking input through Friday, August 10.

Although we have a long way to go before we truly have a healthier Oregon, the transformation of the health care system already under way shows how much we can accomplish if we focus our attention, our efforts and our resources on solving the problems before us.

Mosaic Medical, Patient-Centered Primary Care Home, coordinates care for patients

Karl Severson, 60, suffered from atrial fibrillation or A-fib, a condition that caused his heart to beat erratically and increases the risk for stroke. After medication and surgery failed, doctors told him there was nothing more they could do.

Then he went to Mosaic Medical in Bend. Through a coordinated team approach that included consultation with a cardiologist at Oregon Health & Science University and participation in an OHSU sleep study, Severson found the underlying cause of his chronic cardiac condition: sleep apnea.

Now equipped with a sleeping mask and night-time breathing machine, Severson says he is sleeping well for the first time in 25 years and better managing his A-fib.

Mosaic recently earned recognition by the state as a Tier 3 Patient-Centered Primary Care Home — the highest level — for its achievements in patient care. Its care teams consist of doctors, nurses, community health workers and behavioral health providers, who together develop a care plan for its patients such as Severson with complex health needs. Mosaic, with about 14,000 patients, is part of the new PacificSource Coordinated Care Organization.

You can read more about Karl Severson and Mosaic Medical, and find other stories about the successes of coordinated care in the OHA Newsroom.

OHPB's next meeting

Joint OHPB and Oregon Health Insurance Exchange (ORHIX) Board meeting
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The Market Square Building
1515 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, OR 97201

In the news

The Associated Press
Coordinated care organizations prepare to launch
Starting this week, Governor John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Health Authority will have a chance to prove they can lower health costs, while insuring more people and producing better outcomes. The first of Oregon’s new Coordinated Care Organizations launch Aug. 1 and will cover 260,000 Oregon Health Plan patients.

The Oregonian
Oregon OKs 5 new care groups for state health reforms
The Oregonian profiles the five newly certified CCOs that will begin serving Oregon Health Plan members on Sept. 1.

The Register-Guard
State blazes better health care trail
Pilar Bradshaw, a Eugene-area pediatrician, writes about the health benefits and the cost saving opportunities of coordinating patients' care.

The Register-Guard
Healthy solutions
The new model of care in Oregon will include community health workers, a stronger emphasis on prevention, and a strengthening of patients’ relationships with their family doctors.

Stay involved!

Connect with us: Use Facebook.com/OregonHealthAuthority and Twitter.com/OHAOregon to find out about events, 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
View calendar of health reform meetings

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.