legislative updates

Oregon Expects to Save $79 Million by Expanding Medicaid

Legislation on the Medicaid expansion – House Bill 2859 and House Bill 2091 come before the House Health Committee today. Even after the federal government stops fully funding the expansion, the costs to the general fund will be offset by new tax revenues and reimbursements in other areas
March 8, 2013 — If Oregon chooses to comply with the Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid coverage to 260,000 of the poorest residents next year, the state will save $79 million over seven years, according to an economist at Oregon Health & Science University. Read More >>

House Votes to Ban Teens from Tanning Beds

Two-thirds of the Oregon House of Representatives asked the Senate to keep minors out of tanning beds, which have been linked to melanoma
March 8, 2013 -- Tanning beds could soon go soon go the way of cigarettes, strip clubs, lottery tickets and suffrage — off-limits to kids under 18. Read More >>

Legislation Attempts to Corral Regence BlueCross BlueShield

The local insurer has been trying to coerce ambulatory surgery centers to join their networks by sending checks to patients
  March 8, 2013 — Regence BlueCross BlueShield is attempting to coerce ambulatory surgery centers to sign their insurance contracts by sending the checks to the patients, leaving it up to the center to collect the payments, according to Evalyn Cole, administrator of the Spine Surgery Center in Eugene who testified earlier this week in front of the Senate Health Committee. At times, those checks amount to $50,000.
 
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Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Put Forth Pay Equity Bill

HB 2902 is designed to counter cuts made to primary care providers who are not doctors and has resounding support, but similar bills have failed in the past
March 6, 2013 — A few years ago, private insurers cut the rates that they pay to nurse practitioners and physician assistants by as much as 25 percent and began paying them less than doctors for the same basic services. Read More >>

SB 483 Sails Through Senate Despite Calls for Tort Reform

The bill setting up voluntary and confidential mediation between doctors and patients over medical errors heads to the House
  March 5, 2013 — The medical malpractice reform bill rolled through the Senate, giving the House a chance to approve a mediation system where doctors and patients can talk about medical errors without going to court. Read More >>

State Could See “Game-Changing” Spike for Children’s Mental Health

The $46 million increase that Senate President Peter Courtney called for at the start of the session could become reality with the co-chairs' budget released Monday
March 5, 2013 — A pathway has appeared to the game-changing funding levels that Senate President Peter Courtney signaled for community mental health -- at least for children – when the increased funding made a list of priorities when the co-chairs released their two-year spending plan Monday morning. Read More >>

Malpractice Mediation Bill Heads to Senate Floor

SB 483 has the ringing endorsement of Gov. John Kitzhaber, who praised the ability of doctors and attorneys to come together on a resolution aimed at reducing liability costs and litigation after serious medical errors
March 1, 2013 — The Joint Ways & Means Committee passed Senate Bill 483 by unanimous consent, moving the bill to the Senate floor next week that would create a voluntary system to mediate disputes over serious health incidents and avoid litigation. Read More >>

Marijuana PTSD Bill Clears Senate Health Committee

Sen. Chip Shields spearheaded the vote on an un-amended bill authorizing doctors to prescribe marijuana for post-traumatic stress disorder, which now is headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee
  March 1, 2013 -- The Senate Health Committee voted 4-1 Thursday to give approve Senate Bill 281, which would expand the medical marijuana program to include post-traumatic stress disorder.
 
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House Health Committee Votes 9-0 to Ban Tanning for Minors

Oregon has the highest death rate in the U.S. of melanoma among women, which has been linked to use of tanning beds
February 28, 2013 — Oregon may be cloudy much of the year, but that doesn’t prevent the state from having alarmingly high rates of skin cancer, particularly melanoma. Read More >>

Oregon May Ask Voters to End Death Penalty

House Joint Resolution 1 had its first hearing before the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, but no vote was taken. A repeal requires a ballot vote, and a similar measure was defeated last year in California.
February 27, 2013 — Oregon took its latest step in the long debate over capital punishment, as the House Judiciary Committee heard House Joint Resolution 1 that would change the aggravated murder law to state, “A sentence of death may not be imposed or executed.” Read More >>
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