HB 3650 will change the health care delivery system, beginning with people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
Status
Passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kitzhaber on July 1, 2011.
» Read an update in the Salem Statesman-Journal
» Read the story in The Oregonian
Background
In May, 2011, we had a chance to talk with with Mike Bonetto, PhD (health policy advisor to Governor Kitzhaber) and Bruce Goldberg, MD (Director of the Oregon Health Authority) to discuss the status of Health Care Transformation – beginning with House Bill 3650 – and what lies ahead for Oregon.
We’ve also broken down this 43-minute program into short videos. Here are the ones related to Health Care Transformation:
- The Oregon Health Transformation – What about people who are not initially included?
- How will Oregon’s Health Transformation affect SAIF (workers’ compensation insurance)?
- Is Oregon’s Health Transformation legislation tracking the vision of transforming health?
- How is coordinated care different than a good integrated clinic?
- Can we provide coordinated care in more remote settings?
- How do we move the focus from health care to better health?
- Can we lower costs without spending even more in the short term?
About Health Care Transformation
HB 3650 would allow creation of Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) which would be accountable for achieving better health outcomes and cost savings, mostly through vastly improved coordination of care among all the levels of service available to keep a patient healthy.
The Oregon Health Fund Board will be launching four short-term committees to make recommendations on:
- criteria for Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs)
- integrating care for enrollees who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid
- metrics for CCOs – how outcomes will measured
- global budgets for CCOs – one of several pieces that will need federal approval
The timeline for setting up these committees and getting the work done will be brisk, beginning after legislative approval of HB 3650.
Why should you care about Coordinated Care Organizations?
The Health Care Transformation will start with people on Medicare and Medicaid (the Oregon Health Plan) but it is not stopping with them. Their needs cross the medical, dental, mental health and long-term care systems, plus more. If CCOs can successfully manage to coordinate and integrate care for people with complex conditions, it will become the template for how we can better organize care for all. It will lay out the health care delivery system that all of us will eventually use. As was reported in the Salem Statesman-Journal, “Rep. Tina Kotek, D-Portland, said the bill also intends to be a model not just for the Oregon Health Plan…”
As CCOs begin to form, they will not be limited to traditional medical providers, but will be forced to reach out to and include public health, school nurses, safety net clinics, and others in their regions. Optimal data and information management will be critical. And they will be accountable for improving health and controlling costs, knowing that their action will impact the health of Oregonians, either for good and for not. And we are creating this here in Oregon, moving first as we have often done before.
Because this bill is connected with overall state budget discussions, expectations are high. Cost savings that might come from using the CCOs could offset daunting budget cuts that would otherwise be put in place.
The Oregonian’s Bill Tracker
» Text of current bill version (SB 3650-B)
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