the lund report

Regence and Health Net Take Different Approach to Exchange

The health insurers that want to participate in Cover Oregon next year have until next Tuesday to file their proposed rates and benefit plans with the Insurance Division
April 26, 2013 -- Oregon’s health insurance exchange is about to take a decisive step forward next Tuesday. That’s when health insurers must file their proposed rates for individual and small group coverage with the Insurance Division. Those rates will be made public May 10, and public hearings have already been scheduled starting in late May.  Read More >>

For-Profit Hospitals Skimp on Charity Care

Overall, spending on care for the poor dropped statewide while enrollment climbed in the Oregon Health Plan
April 26, 2013 – Oregon's two for-profit hospitals are among the stingiest hospitals in the state when it comes to providing care for the poor. Read More >>

The Lund Report Makes Strides Uncovering Hospital Finances

We’ve heard from legislators, lobbyists and hospital executives – all of whom have touted our hospital finances series, calling it accurate, thorough and breakthrough journalism
April 25, 2013 -- Are you among the more than 10,000 readers who’ve been intrigued by the articles on hospital finances prepared by Courtney Sherwood, an award-winning freelance journalist? If so, you can look forward to two more stories during the coming weeks in this outstanding series that’s being touted by legislators as a break-through journalism enterprise. Read More >>

Periodontal Hygienists, Kaiser Likely to Face Arbitration Over Union Contract

Kaiser is planning to eliminate the classification of periodontal hygienist from its next union contract, instead sending periodontal patients to the general hygienist pool
  April 26, 2013 – Jackie Farlinger-King has worked for Kaiser Permanente Northwest as a periodontal hygienist – treating only patients with gum disease – since the mid-1980s, and has been a hygienist with Kaiser for 32 years.
 
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Local Physician Takes Top Honor

  April 24, 2013 -- John Saultz, M.D., Chairman of Oregon Health & Science University’s Department of Family Medicine, was named the 2013 Oregon Family Doctor of the Year by the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians.  Dr. Saultz was honored at the Annual Spring CME Weekend of the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) on Saturday, April 13 at Salishan Lodge in Gleneden beach. Dr. Saultz’s wife, children and grandchildren were on hand for the surprise announcement. Read More >>

Senate Passes “Air-Conditioner Bill” to Help CCOs

SB 724 sets the stage for coordinated care organizations to use their global medical budget to pay for common-sense social work expenses that would keep vulnerable Medicaid patients out of the hospital and lead to lower costs. CCOs still need federal approval.
April 24, 2013 — A measure that directs the Oregon Health Authority to set up codes to bill non-medical expenses for patients on the Oregon Health Plan sailed through the Senate on a 26-1 vote yesterday. Read More >>

‘Churn Bill’ Looks to Help People Switching from Medicaid to Cover Oregon

Starting in 2016, 60,000 Oregonians may find themselves moving between the Oregon Health Plan and Cover Oregon, and potentially losing access to their doctors or coverage of ongoing procedures. HB 2132 requires the OHA and Cover Oregon to take steps to alleviate this problem.
April 24, 2013 — Next year, the Affordable Care Act will allow people whose income falls below 138 percent of the federal poverty level to receive coverage through the Oregon Health Plan. Read More >>

Med Students, Rural Providers Continue to Question Future of Rural Clerkships

Students are circulating a petition asking OHSU to keep rural clerkships, but the administration says the program will expand, not contract
April 23, 2013 – Medical students at Oregon Health & Science University are circulating an online petition asking the school to keep the five-week rural clerkship that has been a required part of OHSU's medical curriculum since 1994 – but the university's administration maintains it doesn't intend to reduce or eliminate the clerkships, and in fact plans to offer more rural clerkships. Read More >>

Is It R.I.P. for Solo and Small Physician Practices?

Much has been penned about the death of private practice for solo and small physician practices. Some have even written the epitaph for all private physician practices, no matter what the size. This author posits that while the days of the traditional private fee-for-service practice might be numbered, many smaller physicians groups are thriving in the new era of clinical integration with aligned financial incentives, and doing better than they have done before, and suggests that this is the preferred path of private practice.
OPINION – April 24, 2013 -- Although many of the reasons vary for the dire predictions of the "futurists," some common reasons suggested are the increasing costs of operating a private medical practice, declining reimbursement, increasing government scrutiny of practice operations, lack of autonomy, compliance headaches, and competition by medical groups owned by hospitals and health plans, or those that are substantially aligned with same. Read More >>

Senate Votes to Set Tanning Ban Age Limit at 17

The Senate approved HB 2896 on a 17-11 vote, but to gain the support of Sen. Chip Shields, the bill was weakened from the House version, which would make it illegal for teens to tan under the age of 18
April 22, 2013 — The Senate voted 17-11 on Monday to pass a less restrictive version of a teenage tanning salon ban than the one that passed the House overwhelmingly, prohibiting the practice for children under 17 without a doctor’s note.
 
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