Priority: Health Care
Better health, better care, and lower costs for Oregon
"We can no longer stand by while businesses, families, and your state government are forced to spend more and more each year on an inefficient, hyper-inflationary system that is not making us healthier as a population -- dollars that otherwise businesses could be using to create new jobs; families could be using to get out of debt and pay down their mortgages; and the state could be using to invest in children and education."
-- Governor Kitzhaber, State of the State Address, January 13, 2012
Governor Kitzhaber is proposing two pieces of legislation in 2012 that help Oregon continue our shift to health care systems that are affordable, accessible, competitive, and focused on improving the quality of care for all Oregonians. As the Register Guard recently wrote, "There has to be a better way. Oregon may have found it."
Coordinated Care Organizations
Our Challenge
Approximately 80 percent of health care costs come from 20 percent of patients, many of whom have chronic illnesses. Without healthcare providers communicating with one another in a coordinated way, these patients often end up in hospitals or receive expensive acute care that could have easily been prevented. Oregon can do better, and we're well on our way. Last year, with bold, bipartisan legislative leadership, Oregon committed to transforming the delivery of services through the Oregon Health Plan in order to reduce year-over-year cost increases while improving the health of the state's most vulnerable citizens.
Action for 2012
Senate Bill 1580 will build on some of the best work happening across Oregon to shift the focus and dollars from the emergency room and after-the-fact acute care to prevention, early intervention, and community-based management of chronic conditions. Through Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs), we will move from today's fragmented and inefficient health care delivery system to one that is more efficiently aligned, more patient-centered, and more affordable for the state. The potential cost savings for Oregon are substantial -- more than $3 billion over the next five years -- and will ensure that our most vulnerable citizens maintain coverage, while freeing limited resources for other public priorities.
Read the Health Care Bill Fact Sheet (pdf)
Health Insurance Exchange
Our Challenge
Many individuals and small businesses want to access quality health insurance, but simply can't afford to do so or don't have tools available to make apples-to-apples comparisons of health insurance plans and costs. In the often overwhelming world of health insurance, a simple, seamless selection process is needed to put the power in the hands of Oregon consumers and small businesses.
Action for 2012
We are on our way to creating the state's first health insurance exchange to provide individuals and small businesses with easy to compare information on the quality and price of various health plans. HB 4164 will further define the role of the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange, a new public corporation made possible by legislation passed in 2011, as part of the next step to ensuring the Exchange is ready for open enrollment by October 2013. The program will create local exchanges that are accountable to Oregonians, offering choice, competition for improved value, and transparency.
Read the Health Insurance Exchange Fact Sheet (pdf)
Resources
Oregon Health Policy Board
The nine-member citizen Board serves as the policy-making and oversight body for the Oregon Health Authority. It is responsible for improving access, cost and quality of the health care delivery system, and the health of all Oregonians.
Visit the Oregon Health Policy Board Web site
Oregon Health Insurance Exchange
The Oregon Health Insurance Exchange is a central marketplace where consumers and small employers can shop for health insurance plans and get help paying for coverage.
Visit the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Web site
