reform efforts

Startling Healthcare Costs for Drug and Alcohol Treatment

A statewide commission will urge legislators to create a drug czar to oversee drug and alcohol addiction programs
November 15, 2010 -- Healthcare costs associated with alcohol and drug abuse amounted to $3.2 billon during 2006 in Oregon – while 70 percent of people who were incarcerated had a substance abuse problem. Read More >>

Healthcare Workers Need to Have Flu Vaccinations

A work group is attempting to increase the number of workers getting the flu vaccine with a voluntary program
November 12, 2010 -- Despite the fact that 1,316 Oregonians were hospitalized and 67 died of influenza-related illnesses last year, Oregon healthcare workers are still falling behind when it comes to vaccinating themselves for the flu. Read More >>

OSPIRG Earns Grant to Review Rates

Oregon officials want better consumer reviews of proposed insurance premiums
November 10, 2010 -- The consumer advocacy group OSPIRG has been awarded a $100,000 grant to provide in-depth analysis to the Oregon Insurance Division about health insurance rate increases. Read More >>

Legislature Looks at New Approach to Work Force Shortages

Rep. Mitch Greenlick favors the creation of generalist healthcare professionals who can work across their licenses
November 9, 2010 -- State Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland) wants the medical profession to renounce specialization and instead create “new models of generalist healthcare workers who can work across their licenses.” Read More >>

Greenlick Calls Proposal Evolutionary

The state legislator from Portland would like to see pilot demonstration projects where physical and occupational therapists work together
November 9, 2010 – State Rep. Mitch Greenlick insists the tendency to create highly specialized niches of healthcare workers is making it more difficult to deal with the shortage of healthcare professionals. Read More >>

Earl Blumenauer Shares The Worst Vote of His Political Career

Funding for alternative mental health programs has been whittled away since Blumenaer was in the Oregon legislature in the late 1970s
November 4, 2010 -- Just a few days shy of being re-elected to Oregon's 3rd district Congressional seat, Earl Blumenauer told a group of 100 community members about the worst vote of his political career. Read More >>

Quality Corp Loses Leader While Facing Challenges

After five years at the helm, Nancy Clarke is retiring but insists the Quality Corp will remain strong
October 29, 2010 -- With the imminent departure of Nancy Clarke who’s led the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation for the past five years, daunting challenges await her successor who’s expected to be named in mid-November. Read More >>

Kurt Schrader Rides Fine Line on Healthcare

Republican opponent Scott Bruun says cuts to Medicare will hurt Oregon seniors
October 27, 2010 -- Congressman Kurt Schrader isn’t exactly running away from healthcare like many Democratic incumbents in swing districts this year, but he isn’t actively campaigning on the issue either. Read More >>

Employers Follow Kitzhaber on Value-Based Design

The Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers is working with 14 employers to help them coordinate and align their benefit structure
October 26, 2010 -- As they grapple with rising healthcare costs, employers appear eager to focus on what’s becoming known as value-based benefit designs, a concept that gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber has been touting. Read More >>

C-section Rates Climb in Portland Area

Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital is the exception while Curry General Hospital has the lowest rates in the state
October 20, 2010 -- Oregon’s rate of children born by Caesarean section (C-section) is climbing, which concerns obstetric physicians in the state. Read More >>
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