the lund report

House Health Committee Clears Toxic Toys Bill

The bill was narrowed but still requires manufacturers to report hazardous chemicals and phase them out in most cases. The Toxics Disclosure for Healthy Kids Act is modeled after a law in Washington, where a recent report found Disney and others failed to report child’s perfumes laced with poisonous phthalates.
April 16, 2013 — Oregon took a big step forward to taking toxic toys off its shelves, as House Bill 3162, moved out of the House Health Committee. Read More >>

Greenlick Wants Public Comment Period, but CCOs Resist

The chair of the House Health Committee has proposed a compromise version of earlier legislation that would have subjected coordinated care organizations to the public meetings law. HB 2960 would require private board meetings to have a public comment period and open advisory councils to public.
April 16, 2013 — Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, has put forth a compromise bill that would ensure greater public scrutiny of coordinated care organizations without putting them under Oregon’s public meetings law. Read More >>

Oregon House Passes Bill Giving Workers Two Weeks Leave to Grieve

HB 2950 expands the Oregon Family Leave Act to include time spent in bereavement, protecting employees from being fired for missing work when a close family member dies
April 15, 2013 — On April 12, 2006, Rep. Shemia Fagan, D-Portland, told her colleagues in the House that she had her best lunch date ever, as her dad drove from The Dalles to help her celebrate her admission to law school. Read More >>

Midwife Bill Clears Health Committee, Requires License

Exemptions to the law will remain for traditional cultures, while midwives without a license will be prohibited from advertising their services under an amended bill struck by Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland
April 15, 2013 — The House Health Committee passed a direct midwife licensing bill, deciding to prohibit people from advertising midwifery services without a license. Read More >>

Hospital finances: Samaritan Health, Bay Area, McKenzie-Willamette, Willamette Valley

Good Samaritan Corvallis posts losses while Oregon’s two for-profit hospitals deliver strong margins in 2011
April 12, 2013 -- Oregon’s two major for-profit hospitals had some of the strongest profit margins in the state in 2011, behind only Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, according to details revealed in this sixth installment in a series examining the state of Oregon hospitals. Read More >>

Advocates Push for Better Protection of Children with Disabilities

Abuse prevention programs, and oversight regarding the use of restraints might mitigate disproportionate rates of abuse, they say
April 12, 2013 – Just under 12,000 reports of child abuse or neglect were substantiated by the state of Oregon in 2011, with 80 percent of those incidents involving a family member, according to the 2011 Child Welfare Data Book released by the state's Department of Human Services. Read More >>

Dembrow Pitches Oregon Universal Healthcare Study

Funding for the study to provide healthcare financing for all Oregonians would come from private sources, and the study would consider several options, including single-payer, a public option and hybrid model to provide care from cradle-to-grave. A Pennsylvania study found a state single-payer government health insurance system would cut healthcare costs 15 percent
April 12, 2013 — The Affordable Care Act will roll out next year, and Oregon has instituted its own pioneering healthcare delivery reforms through coordinated care organizations. Read More >>

Kitzhaber Plan Reduces Excess Nursing Home Beds, Cutting Costs

A plan to consolidate nursing homes could cut costs by more than 8 percent in one Oregon small town, but a removal of the nursing home tax exemption in HB 2056 is meeting resistance from continuing care retirement communities
  April 11, 2013 — A plan put forward by Gov. John Kitzhaber could save long-term healthcare costs by reducing the number of half-empty nursing homes around the state through financial carrots and sticks to providers.
 
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Hospital Finances: Rogue Regional, Three Rivers, Sky Lakes, Mercy Medical, St. Charles

At all five hospitals, revenue increased while charity care went down in the latest installment of our series on hospital finances
April 10, 2013 -- Revenue climbed at five central and southern Oregon hospitals in 2011, even as they all reduced how much they spent on charity care. Expenses were up as well, and four of the five saw profit margins decline, according to financial details revealed in this fifth installment in a series examining the state of Oregon hospitals. Read More >>

Senate Bill 823 Outlines Courtney’s Vision for Mental Health

Sen. Brian Boquist of McMinnville, the Republican co-sponsor, said the bill sets guidelines in place so the state will be more prepared to actually show results as funding becomes available
April 10, 2013 — Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, teamed up with Sen. Brian Boquist, R-McMinnville, on Tuesday to press for Senate Bill 823, a broad-sweeping set of policy guidelines aimed at providing more comprehensive and proactive community mental health across the state of Oregon. Read More >>
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