Maj' 9, 2012
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Feds Support Kitzhaber Health Plan
Initiative to
invest in
preventive care
( AP) — The Obama administra
tion is buying into an ambitious
health care initiative in Oregon, an
nouncing Thursday it has tenta
tively agreed to chip in $ 1.9 billion
over five years to help get the pro
gram off the ground.
Oregon hopes to prove that states
can save billions on Medicaid with
out sacrificing the quality of health
care. Gov. John Kitzhaber's plan
would invest in preventive care to
keep patients healthy so they don't
need expensive hospitalizations.
"If this works, I think other states
are going to be looking at this as a
way to manage that patient popula
tion," said Kitzhaber, a Democrat
and former emergency room physi
cian who has worked for decades on
reforming the health care system.
The federal government could
save $1.5 trillion over the next 10
years if all 50 states adopted
Oregon's approach, the governor
has said.
M e d ic a id , w h ic h p ro v id e s
health coverage for low-incom e
A m ericans, is jo intly funded by
the state and fed eral g o v e rn
Family nurse practitioner Terrance James examines Kamiyan Cooper, 1, as his mother Kesha
Wilson looks on, at the Multnomah County's Mid County Health Center. The Obama administration
is buying into Oregon's ambitious health care initiative, tentatively agreeing to chip in $1.9 billion
over five years to help get the program o ff the ground. (AP photo)
ments. Federal officials have not
yet agreed to grant O regon a
w aiver from standard M edicaid
regulations, which is needed for
the program to be im plem ented
and the money to be spent.
The financial commitment from
the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, while still not final,
is a clear public endorsement of the
concept and an indication that the
administration believes the initia-
tive holds promise to save money.
The state anticipates savings of $ 11
billion to state and federal budgets
over the next decade by reducing
duplicated treatments and avoid
able hospitalizations.
Finding ways to slow the growth
in health care costs is a critical chal
lenge as baby boomers age and
President Barack Obama's health
care overhaul extends coverage to
millions more Americans, many of
whom will join Medicaid in 2014.
Under Obama's Affordable Care Act,
the federal government will pay most
of the costs for the new patients.
The Oregon plan would create
"coordinated care organizations"
to manage all mental, physical and
dental care for 600,000 low-income
patients on the Oregon Health
Plan, the state's M edicaid pro
gram. It would focus particularly
on the sickest patients with the
highest costs, especially people
with chronic conditions such as
diabetes and asthma or with m en
tal health concerns.
The care organizations would
have to work within fixed budgets,
with broad leeway to spend the way
they think is best. The ones that are
most successful at lowering costs
would see the largest profits.
The model makes it possible to
pay for services that keep people
healthy but don't get much funding
— such as paying caseworkers to
make sure patients go to medical
appointments and take their medi
cations. The state Legislature over
whelmingly endorsed the idea this
year and last, though some Repub
licans complained that it would in
crease the government's role in
health care.
The federal money will lessen the
impact of payment cuts to providers
and help them pay the upfront costs
of the new initiative before the sav
ings can kick in. Oregon, facing a
budget shortfall, planned to severely
cut payments to doctors, hospitals
and other care providers beginning
this summer.
The changes will initially apply
only to M edicaid patients, but
Kitzhaber wants to eventually ex
tend it to government workers and
the general public.
M H M M H M M M M H M M N H M m iN I
Food Drive to Stamp Out Hunger
Letter carries to pick up donations
The com m unity is invited to
help stamp out hunger by simply
placing a bag of nonperishable
food donations by your mailbox
on the m orning of Saturday, May
12, for the National Association
of L etter Carriers Food Drive.
The effort is the largest single
day food drive in the world. In
Oregon, more than 4,000 letter car
riers in urban
and rural ar
eas will join
the n atio n al
effort to pick
up food from
p o s ta l c u s
tomers.
"On behalf
of the Postal
Service, I am
h o n o re d to
p artn er with
the N ational
A s s o c ia tio n
of Letter Car
riers and all
our e m p lo y
ees who will
participate in
this year's an
n u al
fo o d
Letter carrier Jim Falvey collects food from postal d riv e ," said
customers on a previous Letter Carriers Food Drive. S h a w n e e n
The annual event returns on Saturday, May 12.
Betha, Portland Postm aster. "The
need has never been greater. As
part o f the com m unity, our letter
carriers see the need and know
the impact the econom y has had
on so many fam ilies.
Distribution of emergency food
rem ains at record high levels.
In average m onth, an estim ated
260,000 people eat m eals from
an em ergency food box in Oregon
and Clark County, W ashington.
T hat’s equivalent to 14 sold-out
R ose G ard en A re n as in one
m onth.
J E F F E R S O N S M IT H
FOR
MAYOR
Thousands of Supporters
Including:
Prom ise King
W k Charlene McGee
W
Rudy Soto
V
Bruce W atts
V
Maceo P e ttis
p
Erick Flores
<
Luis Nava
Rev. Chuck C urrie
Joseph Santos-Lyons
S erllda Sum m ers-M cGee
Simeon M am arll
Kim Nguyen
Learn more at
www.JeffersonSmlth.com
5 0 3 -610-323 8
ueTierson nas experience managing
budgets through tough tim es to
p rio ritiz e fro n t-lin e services.*’
Debbie Hussey, 911 dispatcher
2011 Small
Business Champion
by the
Oregon Micreenterprlse Network
Sm ith is th e best choice for
a tio n .” Suzanne Cohen, Teacher
VOTE MAY 15TH