Friday, May 4th, 2012 - 14:13
Friday, May 4, 2012 - 14:01
Waiver for Medicaid coordinated care program likely to be approved soon.
In exchange for payment cuts to Medicaid providers, Oregon will initiate an incentives program with the help of $1.9 billion in federal funding. According to the Associated Press the Oregon plan sanctions "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 Medicaid program. Similar to Accountable Care Organizations and other innovative care models like the patient centered medical home, the plan would place an emphasis care management for individuals with chronic diseases, which disproportionately drain health resources.The five-year program could be a model for the nation, should it realize substantial savings. With endorsement from the state legislature alongside Governor Kitzhaber, Oregon is in position to show the way forward at the state level. In some ways, the Obama Administration is making a big bet on states like Oregon as it has seen its hopes of national transformation stalled out in the Congress and a divided public.
