inside the industry

128 Students to Receive $2,000 KAISER Permanente Health Care Career Scholarships on May 18

May 15, 2013 — When Annel Mendoza was 6 or 7, she learned her cousin had a heart murmur. After watching her cousin go from surgery through recovery, Mendoza decided that she wanted to become a heart surgeon. Read More >>

New Primary Care Option in Salem

The owner of Salem Women's Clinic expands into primary care.
May 16, 2013 – Dr. Elizebeth Harmon understands that patients want more time with their doctors because it’s how she’s run her gynecological practice, Salem Women’s Clinic, for the past 20 years; giving the women who visit the clinic time to be heard, understood, and receive meaningful and appropriate care. Being able to offer more quality time to patients in a primary care setting is what led her to open the Salem Wellness Clinic in early May. Read More >>

Competition Spurs Two Oregon Insurers To Lower Proposed Rates

  May 13, 2013 -- Maybe competition among health insurance plans can lead to lower rates. As soon as Oregon this week became the fourth state to publicly list health insurers’ proposed 2014 rates for individual and small group coverage, two plans moved to cut their suggested prices, the Oregonian reported Friday. Providence Health Plan and Family Care Health Plans sought to lower their rates when they noticed they were out of whack compared to competitors — five months before the health law’s new online marketplaces even open for enrollment. Read More >>

LifeWise Joins Regence in Backing Away From Small Employer Exchange

Providence insists it over-calculated its proposed rates for individuals and is asking the state’s insurance commissioner for permission to adjust those rates
  May 10, 2013 -- Now that the health insurers have shown their hands and announced whether they intend to participate in Oregon’s insurance exchange, it’s clear that Regence BlueCross BlueShield isn’t alone in backing away from the small employer market known as SHOP. That became quite apparent in a memo sent to insurance brokers by LifeWise Health Plan that was obtained by The Lund Report.
 
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Regence BlueCross BlueShield Pulls out of Oregon’s Insurance Exchange

Its counterpart in Washington state known as Regence BlueShield, also backed away from its exchange
May 3, 2013 – When the dust settled and the insurers announced their proposed rate requests for Oregon’s insurance exchange, the state’s largest health insurer – Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon – decided to back away. That decision came on the heels of Regence having the highest enrollment last year compared to its rivals -- 472,902 members – just slightly ahead of Kaiser Permanente – which had 464,637 members. Read More >>

Rate Filings Must Be Public Unless Insurers Can Prove Disclosure Hurts Competition

The Department of Justice affirmed that the standard is based on a 2007 law; last year, Regence BlueCross BlueShield withheld information from the public in its rate filing.
April 26, 2013 -- Oregon health insurers that want to keep parts of their rate review filings secret may have to show that public disclosure will hurt overall marketplace competition, and not just their own bottom line. Read More >>

Oregon Insurer Profits Remain Thin in 2012

However, PacificSource and ODS reported the strongest membership growth, while Regence barely grew and Kaiser lost members 
March 7, 2013 -- Was 2012 the year of the health insurance upstart? While Oregon’s two largest plans either shed members (in the case of Kaiser Permanente) or barely grew (Regence BlueCross BlueShield), two smaller companies made strong inroads within the market, according to annual reports released in the past week by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Read More >>

Rose City Nursing Home to Close, Contribute Beds to New Facility

The new care center won't serve long-term patients, leaving Rose City residents to find new homes
March 1, 2013 – An order approved last week by the Oregon Health Authority will transfer beds to an as-yet-constructed nursing home in northeast Portland from Rose City Nursing Home – but open as a completely different type of facility. Read More >>

Officials Hope to Curtail Rise of Insurance Costs Under ACA

Lawmakers and public officials are holding closed door meetings to create a state reinsurance program that would keep in tow exorbitant insurance increases next year
February 27, 2013 -- Concerns have been mounting by lawmakers and public officials that once the Affordable Care Act kicks in next January, those who purchase their own health insurance will face exorbitant prices. Read More >>

Regence Raises Portability Rates by 6.2 Percent

The insurer had requested a 9.2 percentage increase which was in violation of Oregon law, according to the Insurance Division
February 25, 2013 -- Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon came away with a 6.2 percentage increase on its portability plans -- impacting 4,983 Oregonians – starting May 1. But not before the Oregon Insurance Division determined that Regence’s original request – 9.2 percent – ran afoul of Oregon law. Read More >>
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