Thursday, June 28, 2012

Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization Approved by the State


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 


Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization Approved by State 

On June 28, 2012, the Oregon Health Authority has provisionally approved Columbia Pacific
Coordinated Care Organization’s application to serve as a Coordinated Care Organization
Columbia Pacific CCO will serve Medicaid/Oregon Health Plan (OHP) recipients in Clatsop,
Columbia, Tillamook counties and parts of Coos and Douglas counties.
CCOs are key to the state’s groundbreaking effort to reinvent health care in Oregon. The goal is
to bring all types of health care providers, including medical, behavioral health, addiction
treatment—and soon dental—under a single umbrella to better serve individual communities.
Then, to put patients at the center of the health team, to reinvent care in a way that meets the
individual’s needs.
CareOregon and Greater Oregon Better Health Initiative (GOBHI) are partnering with
communities, social service agencies, providers and OHP members to form the Columbia
Pacific CCO. Since 1994, CareOregon has served OHP recipients in rural as well as urban
communities, with a current membership of approximately 160,000. GOBHI has a long history of
serving behavioral health needs in rural Oregon and has approximately 70,000 members.
“You should be able to enter the health system at any point, and then receive the help you need
to navigate all your health needs,” says David E. Ford, CareOregon’s CEO.
Health navigators that help individuals with multiple health issues manage their care will be a
part of the new CCO. And patients who struggle with homelessness, hunger or behavioral
issues will have a support system that helps them overcome these barriers to health.
“Health care should be set up for the patient’s convenience, comfort and their individual needs,
not based on outdated payment methods,” says Ford.
For example, under the CCO umbrella, if it better fits the health issue, patients could request an
e-visit or phone call with their provider, rather than going into the office. In the past, statemandated payment structures required that a patient visit the clinic in order for the doctor to be
paid.
“The member, the family, the community will be central to Columbia Pacific CCO,” says GOHBI
CEO Kevin Campbell. “Our goal is to create a support system that meets the needs of the total person, rather than separating out the mind from the body, or primary health needs from
specialty care.
“The first thing we did was hold public meetings to garner ideas from the community. We’ll have
members represented on the governance board and very robust Community Advisory Councils
in each area. Together, we’ll create a member-centered plan that can improve patient
experiences, health outcomes, and use health funding wisely to ensure the right care at the right
time.”

For more information, contact Jeanie Lunsford.

CONTACT:  Jeanie Lunsford
503-416-3626
lunsfordj@careoregon.org



If you have questions, e-mail Columbia Pacific CCO at CCOinfo@careoregon.org
or read more at tinyURL.com/ColumbiaPacific.

Eight Coordinated Care Organizations are Certified

Oregon Health Authority News Release:

Eight new health care organizations are certified to begin serving local communities in Oregon on August 1, 2012, the Oregon Health Authority announced today.

The new entities, called Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs), will provide care for Oregonians enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan/Medicaid. CCOs are the foundation of Oregon's vision to improve care, achieve better health and lower costs. Under bi-partisan state legislation passed earlier year, the new CCOs will be able to deliver care in new ways. Key to CCOs will be the ability to coordinate mental and physical health care and focus on prevention. CCOs will also provide effective support to patients with chronic conditions, ensuring that they are taking appropriate medications and managing their appointments.

"I am proud of the way the Oregon health care community has come together to create a more patient-centered and sustainable health care system," said Governor John Kitzhaber. "By eliminating the unnecessary and unhelpful elements of health care such as bureaucracy, duplicate testing, and preventable hospital visits, we can save billions of dollars and have a healthier population. We are on our way to fulfilling our vision for Oregon for a more effective, efficient health system."

Under the new model, Oregon has agreed to reduce Medicaid inflation by 2 percentage points within two years by focusing on improving the health of clients to reduce unnecessary expenditures. The agreement calls for saving $11 billion over the next decade. Coordinated Care Organizations are an Oregon-based reform and are not affected by the pending Supreme Court ruling about the federal Accountable Care Act.

The eight certified CCOs are contracted to begin enrolling people August 1. The communities they will serve are listed below. This is the first wave of certification. Additional CCOs are expected to be certified and begin providing services later in the year.

AllCare Health Plan - All of Curry, Josephine, Jackson and part of Douglas counties

FamilyCare, Inc. - Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, and part of Marion County

Intercommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization - All of Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties

PacificSource Community Solutions, Inc. - All of Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson and part of Klamath counties

Trillium Community Health Plan - All of Lane County

Umpqua Health Alliance - Most of Douglas County

Western Oregon Advanced Health, LLC - All of Coos and Curry counties

Willamette Valley Community Health, LLC - All of Marion and most of Polk counties

Bruce Goldberg, M.D., director of the Oregon Health Authority, says that the creation of the new CCOs marks the beginning of historic changes to Oregon's health care system. At the same time, as the new Coordinated Care Organizations are forming, clients will not see much of a change, especially at first. Oregon Health Plan benefits are not changing and services that are covered today will continue to be covered under Coordinated Care Organizations.

"Clients do not have to take any actions," said Dr. Goldberg. "As CCOs get up and running there will be more opportunities for preventive care, education and other services that help keep people healthy."

Later this week OHP clients who are going to be enrolled in a new CCO in their community will receive personal notification with the name of the new Coordinated Care Organization. More information for clients can be found at health.oregon.gov.

Dr. Goldberg also points out that under the new state health care law, Coordinated Care Organizations will be required to implement health improvement strategies for the people they serve.

"These improvements are not only about lowering costs," said Dr. Goldberg. "We will be measuring the success of the new CCOs based on how well they do to improve the health of the people they are serving. And we will all be accountable for that."

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

GOBHI Plans Series of Local Meetings

COMMUNITY MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR THE EASTERN OREGON COORDINATED CARE ORGANIZATION – Public Welcome and Encouraged to Attend
Greater Oregon Better Health Initiative (GOBHI) together with ODS Community Health Inc. have joined together to create a collaborative partnership to serve twelve of Oregon’s rural Eastern Oregon Counties (Wheeler, Gilliam, Sherman, Morrow, Umatilla, Lake, Harney, Grant, Union, Wallowa Baker, and Malheur).
Go to "Upcoming Meetings" link above to see the details.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Temporary Draft CCO Rules

The Legislature overwhelmingly approved SB1580, which implements the Oregon Health Policy Board recommendations, and finalizes action from last session's HB3650.

The full proposal and other materials from the OHPB meetings can be found at http://health.oregon.gov/OHA/OHPB/meetings/index.shtml. This includes the Medical Liability Report as well as the update on integration of Medicare and Medicaid services for individuals who are dually eligible, and Diane Lovell’s comments on PEBB/OEBB.