Oregon Lawmakers Diverge on Plans for State Healthcare

Oregon Commissioners Janet Carlson and Craig Pope offered different views on how state-supported healthcare should be delivered to state residents, according to a Statesman Journal report.

Lawmakers are considering a shift from managed care organizations, under which 85 percent of Oregon Health Plan recipients currently receive care, to a community network of physicians, hospitals and other providers. The new coordinated care organizations would focus on chronically ill patients, who make up a disproportionate share of the cost of care.

Mr. Pope, a Polk County commissioner, said there are still too many unanswered questions about how coordinated care organizations should be governed and financed, as well as the role of counties in managing or participating in the organizations. He said the process is more advanced in some communities than others.

Ms. Carlson, a commissioner from Marion County, said managed care organizations do not understand the "new reality" of coordinated care just yet.

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