June 8, 2009
Geoff Sugerman
503-986-1210

Cost Containment Key to House

Passage of Health Care Bills

Legislation will Cover 80,000 Oregon Children

The Oregon House today passed legislation to rein in health care costs, create over 3,500 jobs and provide insurance coverage for an additional 115,000 Oregonians – most of them children – with the passage of House Bill 2116 and House Bill 2009.

With strong support from the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, some of the state’s largest hospitals will pay a fee that will be used to bring in nearly $2 billion in federal dollars over the next four years. Hospitals across the state will receive that money back through better compensation for care they provide. The Oregon Health Plan will be able to cover 95% of Oregon’s uninsured children and extend coverage to an additional 35,000 adults.

“These bills help ensure that our children receive the health care services they need. We’ll also be able to add thousands of jobs to the health care industry in a time of great economic distress,” said House Speaker Dave Hunt. “With the cost containment measures we’re implementing today, we’ll take our first significant steps toward controlling health care costs and the increases that are hurting small businesses. For us to be able to provide coverage for our uninsured children and bring in $2 billion in federal funds given today’s economic crisis is a monumental achievement for Oregon.”

Majority Leader Mary Nolan (D-Portland), State Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland), State Rep. Chris Harker (D-Beaverton) and State Rep. Tina Kotek (D-Portland) led House efforts to negotiate the two bills. They heaped praise on the groups involved in making this health care expansion possible.

“Today we accomplished the dual goal of helping Oregon’s children and improving the Oregon economy,” said Nolan.

Rep. Greenlick agreed.

“Our colleagues in the Senate, Governor Kulongoski, the hospital association and health care providers across the state have been working for nearly two years on making this expansion possible,” said Greenlick, chair of the House Health Care Committee. “We have come together with a plan that helps us keep $2 billion in federal tax dollars here at home and uses that money to cover our kids and make the system more efficient and accountable. Plus it provides the extra benefit of creating thousands of jobs.”

Kotek said hospitals that are helping pay for the plan will get every dollar and more back because of the expansion of coverage and the increased reimbursements. Today, said Kotek, some 10% of premium costs are directly related to paying for uncompensated care.

“Every one of us pays for care for the uninsured -- care for people without health insurance who end up in the emergency room,” said Kotek.  “What we have accomplished here, in expanding care and controlling costs is a remarkable step forward in improving Oregon’s health care system.”

Harker, a small business owner and a former health care researcher, said this plan makes sense for small business and it makes Oregon a healthier state from top to bottom.

“House Bill 2009 will help small businesses and our medical professionals. This is the next, vital step, towards improving the health of all Oregonians. The Oregon Health Policy Board, established in this bill, will help contain costs, improve quality, and expand access,” said Harker.

In addition to the increased coverage, the cost containment components of HB 2009 include:

Giving Consumers the Tools to Make Better Health Care Decisions

HB 2009 will create a statewide database of all health care claims by all medical providers.   This will lead to better information on the variation occurring in health care prices across our state.  Public/private partnerships will add nationally recognized quality standards to the project as well, giving Oregonians the ability to make more informed health care decisions based on both cost and quality.

Increasing the Focus on Prevention, Primary Care and Disease Management

Placing more importance on prevention and developing payment reforms that coordinate patient-centered care through a primary care home are action steps included in HB 2009.  Keeping people out of the emergency rooms through more personalized and coordinated care saves money while improving health outcomes. 

Requiring Transparency and Accountability of Our Health Care Dollars

Nearly all of Oregon’s hospitals operate under the nonprofit tax status, so it’s fitting for HB 2009 to require transparent reporting of large capital expenditures for construction and technology investments that end up costing consumers more.  HB 2009 will also require more accountability for insurance rate increases through the Department of Consumer and Business Services, with an enhanced public input process prior to rate decisions.

Standardizing and Simplifying Insurance Paperwork

HB 2009 will help cut the red tape that slows down critical health care services and payments.  Many Oregonians have personally experienced a paperwork nightmare between their health care provider and an insurance company.  Implementing standard forms and processes for insurance transactions will lower costs throughout the health care system.

Streamlining the Health Functions of the State

HB 2009 will replace the current fragmented system of health-related entities in the state with a citizen-led Oregon Health Policy Board and its executive arm, the Oregon Health Authority, as the new home for all state health purchasers and programs.  This streamlined approach will organize the patchwork of state health policy and health services; maximize efficiencies and reduce duplicative efforts.

Investing in Health Information Technology, Workforce Development and a Better Way to Shop for Insurance

HB 2009 will lay the foundation for a healthy Oregon, with quality, affordable health care for everyone. Other key initiatives include:

• Implementing a strategic planning initiative for developing interoperable electronic health information;
• Targeting investments in workforce development to ensure access to quality care no matter where you live in Oregon, and;
• Developing a business plan for a Health Insurance Exchange, a central marketplace for insurance that provides one-stop shopping for individuals and small businesses, including a public health plan option.