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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2015)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Saturday, December 12, 2015 Faced with a fee, Oregon reconsiders health exchange Andy Nelson/The Register-Guard via AP Winter storms return this weekend Todd Hogan, a driver with System Transport, removes chains after crossing Willamette Pass, near Oakridge on Thursday. Heavy snow fell on the pass making chains mandatory for trucks. The National Weather Service advised several Pacii c storm systems will move through the area this weekend, beginning Friday night. Each of the storms will bring rain and mountain snow. Snow levels will vary from 2,500 to 5,000 feet through the period, but signii cant accumulations will be likely over the higher elevations. Regulators seek to reduce child pot poisoning what levels of THC — the intoxicant in pot — are dangerous to children. Oregon, now in the thick of rulemaking for pot edibles, may have something to learn from trailing Colorado on the road to legalization, said Dr. Rob Hendrickson, medical toxicologist and associate medical director for Oregon Poison Control. Hendrickson is embarking on a study to calculate safe amounts of THC per kilogram of a child’s body weight. He is relying on voluntary reports of child exposure to come up with data for the study. “Right now, there is no way to screen emergency room visits so I am going to encourage ERs to contact us about any marijuana exposure, how much was consumed, how it was pack- aged and how did they get into (it) and come up with a safe amount,” he said. The outcome of the study could help inform decisions on THC limits when Oregon sets permanent rules for edibles By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — When it comes to protecting children from marijuana exposures, Oregon regulators are stepping into relatively new territory. “The problem is the drug is in food products that are attractive and palatable,” said Dr. George Sam Wang, a physician and medical toxicologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado. From gummy bears to brownies, “no other prescrip- tion drug comes in all of these food products,” Wang noted. Scant research exists on safe levels for children. Colorado and Washington — Oregon’s only predecessors in legalization of recreational marijuana — have no data collection system to track the total number of kids who go to the emergency room with an overdose. Oregon regulators have gleaned a small amount of evidence from voluntary reports to Colorado poison control on meters of surface area caused an 86 percent rate of adverse effects, including sleepiness, paranoia and fast heart rate, Hendrickson said. “The really disgusting way to think it is that if you peeled off someone’s skin and ¿ gured out how much square meters it took up,” Hendrickson said. From that, Hendrickson calculated that a dose of 10 mg (the limit in Colorado) would produce symptoms in a 2- to 4-year-old. His study will yield safe doses for each kilogram of a child’s weight. The Oregon Health Authority has approached edible goods with greater caution than its predecessors in legalization. In temporary rules approved Nov. 13, the health authority set a limit of 5 mg of THC per serving of edible marijuana, half the amount allowed in Colorado and Washington State. Up to 10 servings are allowed in one package of edibles. The temporary rules take effect April 1. next year, including limits on THC doses and servings per package. The THC limits apply only to recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has no limits on dosage. The limit is important because voluntary reports to Colorado poison control show that the number of children, ages 0-5, exposed to THC more than tripled between 2009 and 2013. There were seven reports of children exposed to THC in 2009, the year medical cannabis was legalized, and 24 reports in 2013 when Colorado voters approved recreational use. Hendrickson plans to model his study after research on a pharmaceutical THC drug, which was used for chemotherapy-related nausea well before medical marijuana was legalized. Researchers looked how much THC a patient could tolerate and came up with a number calculated through a formula based on body surface area. 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A touch of afternoon rain Breezy with snow 47° 40° 44° 33° MONDAY TUESDAY A passing shower in the morning Partly sunny Mostly cloudy with a shower 40° 29° 40° 30° 40° 29° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 45° 36° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 52° 38° 39° 26° 67° (1924) -10° (1932) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Trace 1.36" 0.51" 9.17" 11.04" 11.98" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 53° 30° 40° 28° 69° (2014) -14° (1932) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.91" 0.57" 6.30" 6.60" 9.04" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today First Full Dec 18 Dec 25 Last Jan 1 45° 28° 43° 31° 42° 31° Seattle 48/41 ALMANAC 7:26 a.m. 4:11 p.m. 8:13 a.m. 5:54 p.m. New Jan 9 NEWS To submit news tips and press releases: Fall 541-66-1 fa[ 541-276-314 email neZs#eastoreJonian.Fom Multimedia consultants 7erri BriJJs 541-215-447 tEriJJs#eastoreJonian.Fom Jeanne JeZett 541-364-4531 MMeZett#eastoreJonian.Fom .im /aPlant 541-564-453 klaSlant#eastoreJonian.Fom 'ayle Stinson 541-66-6 dstinson#eastoreJonian.Fom To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email FommXnity#eastoreJonian.Fom or Fall 7ammy MalJesini in Hermiston at 541-564-453 or 5enee StrXtKers in Pendleton at 541-66-1. 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To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-66-3 sSorts#eastoreJonian.Fom COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Steve .noEEe 541-66-25 sknoEEe#eastoreJonian.Fom REGIONAL CITIES Today WEDNESDAY PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 47° 42° ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Jennine Perkinson 541-27-263 MSerkinson#eastoreJonian.Fom Real Estate Advertising: Jodi Snook 541-27-267 Msnook#eastoreJonian.Fom Forecast SUNDAY Corrections Legal Advertising: Amanda JaFoEs 541-27-263 aMaFoEs#eastoreJonian.Fom Single copy price: 1 7Xesday tKroXJK )riday, 1.5 SatXrday Spokane Wenatchee 39/35 39/33 Tacoma Moses 47/39 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 42/37 39/36 52/42 46/39 41/33 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 47/41 48/44 Lewiston 46/41 Astoria 45/40 54/43 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 49/41 Pendleton 39/33 The Dalles 47/42 47/40 43/38 La Grande Salem 43/37 51/41 Albany Corvallis 50/41 50/41 John Day 42/38 Ontario Eugene Bend 46/39 50/43 41/34 Caldwell Burns 45/39 37/30 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 54 41 41 51 37 39 50 44 47 42 40 43 39 47 52 55 46 47 47 49 42 51 39 39 49 48 41 Lo 43 35 34 47 30 33 43 37 42 38 34 37 34 41 43 46 39 41 40 41 38 41 35 35 41 44 33 W r c r r r c r r r r r c c r r r c r r r r r c r r c r NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sun. Hi 50 39 37 49 38 37 46 41 45 41 41 40 37 47 47 50 48 46 44 46 41 46 41 37 45 47 44 Lo 39 26 23 37 21 26 35 31 36 28 25 28 28 32 39 39 33 34 33 36 29 34 28 26 36 35 27 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W r r r r sn sn r sh r r sn sn sn r r r r c r r r r c sn r r c WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 41 74 56 54 73 33 51 59 47 75 56 Lo 24 68 42 46 49 30 40 39 30 66 48 W pc pc pc c pc sf pc s s pc pc Sun. Hi 42 75 48 52 67 34 48 58 47 79 54 Lo 30 67 40 45 44 28 36 45 33 67 50 W c pc sh c sh sf pc pc s pc r WINDS Medford 47/41 (in mph) Klamath Falls 40/34 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Windy today with heavy rain. Rain of varying rates tonight; watch for flooding. Eastern and Central Oregon: Cloudy today with a little rain; however, dry in the upper Treasure Valley. Western Washington: Rain arriving in the late morning. Periods of rain tonight. Oc- casional rain tomorrow. Eastern Washington: Rain across the south, the Cascades and central sections today; snow in the north. Snow and rain near the Idaho border. Cascades: Snow today, accumulating 1-3 inches, except rain across the north. Northern California: A little rain today, ex- cept a bit of snow in the interior mountains. Today Sunday SSW 3-6 S 7-14 WNW 6-12 NW 10-20 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 0 1 The government already charges a 3.5 percent fee on premiums in states that rely on HealthCare.Gov and other services. States that run their own exchange portals don’t have federal user fees — but may charge carriers their own fees. In Oregon, where insurers lost millions on claims over the past two years because they set their rates too low, the new fee could be another setback. Earlier this year, carriers whose medical claims costs were higher than expected were told they would get only a fraction of the money promised under a federal program to help stabilize premiums. As a result, Oregonians enrolling in plans for 2016 are facing some of the highest rate increases in the country — and rates could reach even higher with the new fee, of¿ cials said. The 3 percent fee means a total cost of $13 million per year for all the carriers, said Patrick Allen, director of Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services. That’s a high amount, considering Oregon already charges carriers a 2.9 percent fee on premiums for certifying plans, community outreach and other services. “We always knew the federal government would propose a fee, we knew it wouldn’t be free forever,” Allen said. The state, he said, isn’t looking to develop an exchange website from scratch like it did with the failed Cover Oregon process. Oregon is ¿ ghting in court with its contractor Oracle Corp. to recoup millions it paid the tech giant to construct the glitch- ¿ lled exchange. The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. &ODVVLÀHG$GYHUWLVLQJ 1--62-21 Flassi¿ eds#eastoreJonian.Fom Copyright © 2015, EO Media Group TODAY PORTLAND (AP) — With a new fee for some states using the federal health insurance portal on the horizon, Oregon says it’s looking into running its own exchange again, but with another state’s software. Oregon of¿ cials say they’re planning to solicit proposals this month for technology that’s success- fully running an existing health insurance exchange. The move would be an interesting twist for Oregon, which ditched its problem-plagued Cover Oregon portal last spring and switched to the federal website. Oregonians now use HealthCare.Gov to enroll in coverage, but the state continues to certify insurance plans, do community outreach and education. The proposed fee concerns four states including Oregon that run federally supported state-based marketplaces. Nevada, New Mexico and Hawaii also abandoned their exchanges due to technology ¿ ascos and switched to the federal portal, but have retained some state functions. The proposed user fee of 3 percent of the monthly premiums would be paid by insurance carriers who offer plans in those states via HealthCare.Gov. Carriers are expected to pass the new costs on to consumers in the form of higher premiums. The Department of Health and Human Services says the fee covers the costs of running the federal IT platform. A reduced fee rate of 1.5 percent is being considered for the 2017 bene¿ t year to ease the transition for states, said spokesman Aaron Albright. 0 0 0 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 -10s -0s showers t-storm s 0s 10s rain 20s 30s flurr ies snow 40s ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s warm front sta tio nary front high low National Summary: Showers will dot the Ohio Valley today with severe storms for the southern Plains late. Rain and snow will extend from New Mexico to Nebraska as heavy rain and mountain snow return to the Northwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 88° in Brady, Texas Low -3° in Daniel, Wyo. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 48 75 65 68 42 76 43 56 78 74 60 65 75 35 60 57 -5 38 84 77 67 77 67 55 77 68 Lo 27 56 53 47 26 59 39 45 55 52 55 56 55 23 55 38 -18 31 72 64 56 58 58 38 66 48 W sh pc pc pc s pc sf c pc c c c t sn c sh c sn s t c pc c pc c pc Sun. Hi 46 73 65 67 46 75 45 53 79 73 61 66 63 43 63 56 -6 39 84 65 66 79 62 57 70 66 Lo 27 60 54 51 34 53 31 44 61 58 50 58 44 31 54 34 -10 28 73 44 52 64 38 45 46 51 Today W s pc pc pc c pc r sh sh pc r pc sh s c s pc c sh r c pc r pc t pc Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 71 77 81 52 42 73 78 63 72 54 68 61 53 61 75 37 45 57 73 40 64 57 48 56 69 67 Lo 59 65 74 46 38 59 66 55 48 45 53 41 35 43 53 19 36 47 61 28 49 51 41 33 52 46 W c c pc c sh c c pc t sh pc pc pc c pc pc c c c sf s c r pc pc c Sun. Hi 71 73 82 58 44 75 79 68 56 48 69 62 49 57 75 39 48 56 70 45 67 56 48 59 68 52 Lo 53 49 73 50 34 52 53 56 35 35 57 44 33 44 58 18 27 35 46 33 55 46 38 37 56 32 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc t pc r r pc t pc r r pc s c pc pc s r r r pc pc r r s pc r
