State Health Policy

Image

Oregon House Majority Leader Ben Bowman speaks about his efforts to curb what critics call the "corporatization of medicine" at the Oregon Health Forum on Oct. 16, 2024, in Portland. To his left is Brian Kelly, CEO of Women’s Healthcare Associates. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Uneven playing field pushes independent docs to corporate medicine, Oregon panel says

With lawmakers expected to take up legislation that’s being watched across the country, experts detailed a complicated picture

Oct 17, 2024
Premium

Image

Networks of clinics and other providers serve members of the Oregon Health Plan. | MOTOYA NAKAMURA/MULTNOMAH COUNTY

State to cut its planned per-person spending on care for low-income Oregonians

Officials say ‘funding constraints’ require cutting the rates they were expecting to pay for administering care to 1.4 million members of the Oregon Health Plan

Oct 17, 2024
Premium

Image

Washington County’s Hawthorn Walk-In Center for mental health and addictions care in Hillsboro./Washington County

Washington and Clackamas counties go to court over Measure 110 funding change

The changes gives rural counties a bigger share of an estimated $427 million in treatment money. But the pair of Portland area counties say they were shut of the process

Oct 15, 2024
Premium

Image

OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Continuing ONE benefit eligibility flubs primarily stemmed from human error, auditors say

A new look at the state’s historically troubled $416 million eligibility system found that enrollment and benefit errors during the pandemic largely were not the fault of its automated processes, providing counterpoint to the state's earlier record in costly IT projects

Oct 10, 2024
Premium

Image

The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Oregon Health Authority again taps a Washington, D.C. veteran for high-level post

Clare Pierce-Wrobel, an adviser for the White House Domestic Policy Council, will join the Oregon Health Authority to head its health policy and analytics work

Oct 10, 2024
Premium

Image

Emma Sandoe, Oregon's new director of Medicaid, will oversee care for 1.4 million low-income people in the Oregon Health Plan. She's shown speaking last week at the annual conference of CCO Oregon, a trade group focused on the regional care entities that manage Medicaid in the state. | COURTESY CCO OREGON

New Oregon Medicaid Director Emma Sandoe readies for challenges

Bearing a national health policy reputation, the new manager of the Oregon Health Plan will have to adapt to a very different program after working in North Carolina

Oct 8, 2024
Premium

Image

THE LUND REPORT ILLUSTRATION/SHUTTERSTOCK

New Oregon data raises a $287 million question on drug prices

Hefty rebates on drug costs went to insurers and employers but some critics say they’re actually making costs go up, not down

Oct 8, 2024
Premium

Image

Rep. Travis Nelson, a nurse, speaks at a conference held by CCO Oregon, on Wednesday in Salem as Rep. Lisa Reynolds, a physician, listens. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon lawmakers share plans for 2025 session

Key state legislators agree that there are a lot of needs, and figuring out what to focus on is the challenge up next as the long session looms

Oct 2, 2024
Premium

Image

Oregon was one of eight states and the District of Columbia, which saw fatal drug overdoses rise as the they fell in the rest of the country, according to federal data released in August 2024. | SCREENSHOT/CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

Overdoses killing more Oregonians as national figure drops

The western spread of fentanyl continues to fuel regional variations in the number of people dying from drug overdoses, and Measure 110's effects remain debated

Oct 1, 2024

Image

Warren George, a retired business consultant from Corvallis, has been a longtime advocate for a single-payer health care system. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Key member of Oregon universal health board, Warren George, resigns

The business consultant had been a source of hope for advocates; he cites the board’s overreliance on staff as well as his desire to spend more time with his wife

Sep 26, 2024
Premium