legislative updates

PTSD Marijuana Prescription Bill Moves to House Floor

A separate bill, creating dispensaries for medical marijuana, moves through the Committee on Ways & Means.
May 20, 2013 — Rep. Jim Weidner of McMinnville is typically the most conservative Republican on the House Health Committee, but after an emotional debate on Friday he was moved to become the lone GOP representative to join with the Democrats to move to the floor Senate Bill 281 — which would expand the state’s medical marijuana program to allow prescriptions to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder. Read More >>

Hospitals Accused of Putting Their Own Self-Interest Above Patients

The problem has become particularly acute for physical therapists and radiologists. Senate Bill 683 would require physicians employed by hospitals to disclose their organization’s financial interest in referrals and allow patients to seek care with an independent practitioner.
May 20, 2013 — As major hospital systems like Providence and Legacy have bought up ancillary medical centers, added more physical therapists to their payroll and expanded their own supply of medical imaging equipment, independent physical therapists and radiologists say they have seen their referrals dry up and their businesses decline. Read More >>

Greenlick and Monnes Anderson Differ Over Health Insurance Rate Review Changes

The House Health Committee Chairman wants to give DCBS new powers in the annual health insurance rate review approval, while the Senate Health Committee Chairwoman continues to support Regence’s efforts to limit notice of rate hikes.
May 17, 2013 — Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, is moving to bolster Oregon’s rate review process, even as Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, continues to support a Regence BlueCross BlueShield provision that removed requirements from Senate Bill 413 that insurers notify consumers when they request steep rate increases from the state's Insurance Division. Read More >>

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 >>

Single-Payer Activists Keep Dream of Universal Healthcare Alive

A separate measure, giving state sponsorship of a comprehensive study on universal healthcare financing, makes its way through the Committee on Ways & Means.
May 15, 2013 — Wes Brain was uninsured last winter when a tonsillectomy showed signs of throat cancer. He qualified for the high-risk Oregon Medical Insurance Pool, which the state has administered through Regence BlueCross BlueShield. Read More >>

House Passes Assessments for Hospitals and Nursing Facilities

Many hospitals will receive much more than they pay in after the state dollars are used to leverage federal money, helping to implement both the Affordable Care Act and the CCO transformation.
May 15, 2013 — The House passed assessment taxes on hospitals and long-term care facilities by a wide 54-5 margin Tuesday, ensuring Oregon’s health and human service budgets will raise over a billion dollars from providers in coming years and leverage $1.4 billion from the federal government next biennium for Medicaid. Read More >>

FamilyCare Executive Forges Bad Actor Compromise Over Salem Health Lawsuit

Rep. Brian Clem said Jeff Heatherington’s proposal to scale back the punitive repercussions of a CCO dispute makes it more likely the Legislature will be able to move the bill along.
May 14, 2013 — The chief executive officer of the Family Care coordinated care organization has stepped into the growing turmoil over healthcare delivery in the Salem area with a compromise to the so-called “Bad Actor Bill,” which was drafted to put pressure on Salem Health to end its lawsuit against Willamette Valley Community Health. Read More >>

Repeal of Insurers’ Unlawful Trade Practices Act Exemption Moves into Senate

An economic analyst from Washington tells the Senate Consumer Protection Committee that insurance premiums fell after the state strengthened the private right of action against insurers, countering a national trend of rising premiums.
May 13, 2013 — The bill to repeal the insurance industry’s one-of-a-kind exception to Oregon’s chief fraud law has moved to the Senate Consumer Protection Committee, where it faces a less certain outcome than in the House. Read More >>

Greenlick, CCOs, Agree to Minimum Standard of Public Oversight

An amendment to Senate Bill 725 severely scales back previous attempts to force the CCOs to operate in public, makes no demands that CCOs aren’t currently abiding, and only requires public participation twice a year.
May 10, 2013 — In yet another attempt to provide some transparency to the governance of coordinated care organizations, Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, has forged and accepted an agreement that will ensure a minimal level of public involvement. Read More >>

House May Roll Back Bill Expanding Drug Monitoring Program

Rep. Mitch Greenlick opposes allowing the Board of Pharmacy to add drugs to the tracking system that are not controlled by the DEA, aligning his concerns with the American Civil Liberties Union.
May 9, 2013 — Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, has moved to scale back a measure that would enhance the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, citing concerns raised by the American Civil Liberties Union. Read More >>
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