February 1, 2016 eClips Weekend Edition
State Library eClips
* Utilities throw weight behind plan to eliminate coal and increase renewables
* Oregon gun loophole: Bill would ban default sales for slow background checks
* Minimum wage deal: Kate Brown now wants $14.50 for Portland
* Intel secures air quality permit, two years after fluoride gaffe derailed it
* Oregon State Police detective wasn’t alone in bungling Pedersen-Grigsby case
* State board votes to revoke former police chief’s certification for life
* David Sarasohn: As the Legislature meets, a ballot showdown looms — Opinion
* 3 Oregonians infected with Zika virus but U.S. threat slight
* Oregon standoff: Bundy occupation leaves scars behind
* Oregon biologists won’t condone end to catch-and-release fishing for sturgeon in lower Columbia River
* Oregon’s snowpack shows huge improvement from year ago
* Guns, taxes, energy top long list for Oregon Legislature
* Zika virus not a threat to Oregon, public health official says
* Memo to Oregon Legislature: Walk the talk — Opinion
* Opening my ears to Mark O. Hatfield — Opinion
* Lottery set-aside fund would benefit vets — Guest Opinion
* Representatives McLane and Hack meet with Editorial Board — Opinion
* Sen. Ted Ferrioli’s priorities for the February legislative session — Opinion
* ODFW driver, who spilled salmon on McKenzie Highway, guilty of DUII; claims he has rare condition where his body brews alcohol
* Gov. Kate Brown scales back her minimum wage proposal
* A busy 35 days for the Legislature — Opinion
* Welcome, but insufficient — Opinion
* Sen. Wyden: As election looms, college affordability comes to the forefront
* Upper Molalla River designated an Oregon Scenic Waterway
* Judge agrees refuge occupation leaders, others must stay in jail
* A new kind of freedom
* Graduation rates up in East Multnomah County schools
* PERS investment earnings fall short of assumed target
* Irrigation district cancels stock run
* Oregon lawmakers spar over what short session is and isn’t
* Record numbers visit Crater Lake
* Ammon And Ryan Bundy Denied Bail
* Low Oil Prices Hurting Northwest Oil Terminals
* Burns Protests, Legislative Kick Off, Carl Wolfson & Pot Task Force
* News Roundtable: January 29, History Of Public Land, Portland Arts Forum, Mailbag
* Harney County Occupiers Speak, Burns Update, Affordable Housing & Portland Audit
* Spectacular Drone Video Shows Oregon Sinkhole
* Four holdouts remain at wildlife refuge
* Josephine County mom, infant tested for Zika
* As We See It: Here’s hoping legislators work for the good of the entire state — Opinion
* Linn County Commission calls governor’s minimum wage proposal unconstitutional, dangerous
* Series of Harbor sinkholes close highway, could cost millions to repair
* Things to know: Oregon lawmakers battle the ballot
* Pacific Islanders Hope Oregon Lawmakers Restore Health Benefits
* Oregon Lawmakers To Kick Off 2016 Session
* Ransacked Oregon refuge: Sign of disdain toward Americas rangers?
* Is Burns, Ore., getting back to normal?
* Oregon death is latest flashpoint for militias, feds
* As tension spread beyond the Oregon refuge, the feds moved on Bundy’s — Blog
* Oregon Town Torn Apart by Protest at Wildlife Refuge
* States, Cities Tackle Housing Crisis for Low, Moderate Income Families
* Were the grunts that get stuck behind’: The final holdouts of the Oregon occupation
* Killing of an Oregon wildlife refuge occupier has re-energized protesters
* Why the University of Oregon turned to neighboring states for students
* OREGON STANDOFF – Refuge employees itching to take stock of damage
* Moda’s Financial Downfall Began Months Ago
* Dannenhoffers Allegation of Profiteering at CCO Shows Problems with Secrecy and Public Money
* Nosse Wants Law to Track Biosimilar Drugs Without Restricting Access
* 138,862 people in Oregon signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov
* Health Leaders Look Beyond 2016 Session to Fulfill Policy Goals
* Diversion Contract Called into Question
* Refurbished Public Health Advisory Board Tackles Public Health Modernization, will help identify how to distribute money
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UTILITIES THROW WEIGHT BEHIND PLAN TO ELIMINATE COAL AND INCREASE RENEWABLES (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon’s two biggest electric utilities told state regulators Friday that their compromise plan to eliminate coal-fired electricity and meet half their customers’ demand with renewable energy would be affordable, technically feasible and vastly preferable to ballot measures that environmental groups are proposing for next November.
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OREGON GUN LOOPHOLE: BILL WOULD BAN DEFAULT SALES FOR SLOW BACKGROUND CHECKS (Portland Oregonian)
Months after hinting they wouldn’t move major gun bills in response to Oregon’s deadliest mass shooting, Oregon Democrats are lining up behind a pair of proposals meant to keep firearms from dangerous people.
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MINIMUM WAGE DEAL: KATE BROWN NOW WANTS $14.50 FOR PORTLAND (Portland Oregonian)
Reaching for a last-minute deal before lawmakers return to work next week, Gov. Kate Brown released a revised minimum wage plan Friday that scales back proposed increases but offers workers a raise as soon as this summer.
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INTEL SECURES AIR QUALITY PERMIT, TWO YEARS AFTER FLUORIDE GAFFE DERAILED IT (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon regulators granted Intel an air quality permit for its Washington County manufacturing operations last week, a permit sidetracked in the fall of 2013 over revelations the chipmaker had been emitting fluoride for 25 years without disclosing it.
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OREGON STATE POLICE DETECTIVE WASN’T ALONE IN BUNGLING PEDERSEN-GRIGSBY CASE (Portland Oregonian)
Detective Dave Steele was the brunt of a running joke inside his Oregon State Police squad room. He dropped into the office so rarely that his colleagues scrawled “Dave sightings” on a white board and added hash marks to note his appearances.
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STATE BOARD VOTES TO REVOKE FORMER POLICE CHIEF’S CERTIFICATION FOR LIFE (Portland Oregonian)
A state board has voted to revoke Paul Rubenstein’s police certification, but officials say the former Cornelius police chief plans to fight the decision.
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DAVID SARASOHN: AS THE LEGISLATURE MEETS, A BALLOT SHOWDOWN LOOMS — OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
Last week Oregon produced a dramatic lesson, relevant not only where it happened, but clear across the state: If you keep saying you’re ready for a violent showdown, you just might get it.
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3 OREGONIANS INFECTED WITH ZIKA VIRUS BUT U.S. THREAT SLIGHT (Portland Oregonian)
Three Oregonians are among 31 cases of Zika virus reported in the United States, but experts say the risk of a large outbreak here is slight.
All of the cases are travel-related, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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OREGON STANDOFF: BUNDY OCCUPATION LEAVES SCARS BEHIND (Portland Oregonian)
As Ammon Bundy was driven out of Harney County Tuesday night in handcuffs, he left behind wounds that won’t easily heal.
His group damaged the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, taken over Jan. 2. The headquarters compound will be a crime scene for a week or more once all the protesters are gone. Then, displaced federal workers will return, going building by building, room by room, to assess the damage.
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OREGON BIOLOGISTS WON’T CONDONE END TO CATCH-AND-RELEASE FISHING FOR STURGEON IN LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon biologists won’t support Washington’s effort to end catch-and-release fishing for sturgeon in the lower Columbia River.
Tucker Jones, Columbia River program manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the department won’t address the issue unless asked at the Feb. 12 Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Tigard.
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OREGON’S SNOWPACK SHOWS HUGE IMPROVEMENT FROM YEAR AGO (Salem Statesman Journal)
What a difference a year makes.
At this time last year, ski areas were closed or struggling to stay open, ski shops were losing money and hydrologists were predicting doom for the coming summer due to a historically low snowpack in Oregons mountains.
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GUNS, TAXES, ENERGY TOP LONG LIST FOR OREGON LEGISLATURE (Salem Statesman Journal)
The Oregon Legislature has laid out an ambitious agenda for its 35-day session that begins Monday.
In the third short, even-year session, lawmakers plan to tackle such weighty issues as arresting climate change, raising the minimum wage, tightening gun ownership, doubling the lodging tax and increasing housing affordability.
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ZIKA VIRUS NOT A THREAT TO OREGON, PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIAL SAYS (Salem Statesman Journal)
While people should take precautions, Oregonians have little reason to be concerned about the Zika virus, a state public health official said Friday.
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MEMO TO OREGON LEGISLATURE: WALK THE TALK — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
A continued culture of corruption first established under Governor Kitzhaber … plagues the Governors office today.
So says a press release issued last week by the Oregon Senate Republicans.
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OPENING MY EARS TO MARK O. HATFIELD — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
Oregon Sen. Mark O. Hatfield prohibited his staff from speaking ill of another senator. Criticism was restricted to differences on public policy.
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LOTTERY SET-ASIDE FUND WOULD BENEFIT VETS — GUEST OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
Oregonians serving with the 116th Air Control Squadron recently received a warm, well-deserved welcome from family, friends, and neighbors at a demobilization ceremony at Camp Withycombe. Even as we celebrate their homecoming, we should take a moment to reflect upon the ongoing challenges our veterans face upon return.
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REPRESENTATIVES MCLANE AND HACK MEET WITH EDITORIAL BOARD — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
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SEN. TED FERRIOLI’S PRIORITIES FOR THE FEBRUARY LEGISLATIVE SESSION — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
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ODFW DRIVER, WHO SPILLED SALMON ON MCKENZIE HIGHWAY, GUILTY OF DUII; CLAIMS HE HAS RARE CONDITION WHERE HIS BODY BREWS ALCOHOL (Eugene Register-Guard)
The state fish and wildlife truck driver who crashed his load of 11,000 juvenile salmon on the McKenzie Highway more than a year ago has been found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol that he says was brewed inside his own body.
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GOV. KATE BROWN SCALES BACK HER MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL (Eugene Register-Guard)
Democratic Gov. Kate Brown on Friday scaled back her multiyear minimum wage increase proposal after talking this week with labor and business groups and state lawmakers.
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A BUSY 35 DAYS FOR THE LEGISLATURE — OPINION (Eugene Register-Guard)
Voters amended the Oregon Constitution six years ago to require annual legislative sessions, and the new calendar has evolved quickly. The 35-day sessions in even-numbered years were expected to be codas to the 160-day odd-year sessions lawmakers would fine-tune the budget, deal with a few unanticipated problems and go home.
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WELCOME, BUT INSUFFICIENT — OPINION (Eugene Register-Guard)
Graduation rates at Oregon public high schools rose to a statewide average of 74 percent last year, up 2 percent from the year before. At that pace, Oregon will achieve its goal of a 100 percent graduation rate by the time today’s kindergartners finish high school in 2027, just two years behind the states self-imposed goal. The pace of improvement must be sustained.
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SEN. WYDEN: AS ELECTION LOOMS, COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY COMES TO THE FOREFRONT (Eugene Register-Guard)
This will be the year of higher education in Congress, and that’s good news for the University of Oregon and its students, says Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
In a presidential election year, a more-alert-than-usual public means lawmakers may have to face the issue of college affordability.
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UPPER MOLALLA RIVER DESIGNATED AN OREGON SCENIC WATERWAY (Portland Tribune)
Gov. Kate Brown signed an executive order Wednesday declaring a stretch of the upper Molalla River an Oregon Scenic Waterway.
A portion of the river above Glen Avon Bridge was chosen as it meets the Scenic Waterways Act criteria for outstanding scenic, fish, wildlife, geological, botanical, cultural, and outdoor recreation opportunities.
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JUDGE AGREES REFUGE OCCUPATION LEADERS, OTHERS MUST STAY IN JAIL (Portland Tribune)
A federal judge on Friday said five of the militants who occupied Malheur National Wildife Refuge were unsafe to release, including leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy.
Two others were granted release in the detention hearing, but prosecutors intend to appeal. Hearings for two others will be held next week, while one prominent figure, self-styled member of the media Peter Santilli, will receive a determination by Monday.
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A NEW KIND OF FREEDOM (Portland Tribune)
For inmates at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility’s medium security prison in Wilsonville, a new television channel in the facility which screens images of waves rolling in from the ocean, mountains flanked by drifting clouds, the night sky and more has gone a long way toward making incarceration more bearable.
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GRADUATION RATES UP IN EAST MULTNOMAH COUNTY SCHOOLS (Portland Tribune)
Four of the five comprehensive high schools in East Multnomah County improved their graduation rates in 2015, while besting the state average rate, according to new Oregon Department of Education statistics.
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PERS INVESTMENT EARNINGS FALL SHORT OF ASSUMED TARGET (Portland Tribune)
Despite modest gains in 2015, gap will raise public payroll costs in 2017-19.
Earnings on Oregon’s public-pension investments did relatively well in 2015 despite turbulent financial markets, but the pension systems board was told Friday that the 2.1 percent gain was far short of its 7.75 percent assumed rate of return.
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IRRIGATION DISTRICT CANCELS STOCK RUN (Bend Bulletin)
-Deschutes River water levels to blame for cancellation-
The Arnold Irrigation District had to cancel a stock run this week amid concerns about low water levels in the Deschutes River.
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OREGON LAWMAKERS SPAR OVER WHAT SHORT SESSION IS AND ISN’T (Bend Bulletin)
There’s a set of lawmakers who believe whats going to happen in the Capitol during a five-week legislative blitz starting Monday is against the will of the voters who six years ago gave the Legislature the power to meet every year.
Its tantamount to an abuse of power, House Republican Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, repeated during a bipartisan news event last week.
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RECORD NUMBERS VISIT CRATER LAKE (Bend Bulletin)
Crater Lake National Park saw more visitors in 2015 than in any year since the park began closely tracking visitors 25 years ago.
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AMMON AND RYAN BUNDY DENIED BAIL (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
A judge at the federal courthouse in Portland Friday denied bail to five of the militants arrested near Burns earlier this week in connection with the armed occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
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LOW OIL PRICES HURTING NORTHWEST OIL TERMINALS (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
With plans for new oil terminals still pending throughout the Pacific Northwest, low oil prices are hampering operations at existing crude-by-rail operations in the region.
Five different projects to transfer crude from trains to ships have been proposed in Washington, including what would be the nations largest oil-by-rail terminal in Vancouver.
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BURNS PROTESTS, LEGISLATIVE KICK OFF, CARL WOLFSON & POT TASK FORCE (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
There are two protests in Burns today each taking different sides. Well get an update from OPBs Amanda Peacher.
We talk with OPBs capitol correspondent Chris Lehman about what to expect from the short legislative session in Oregon that starts today.
The legislature set up a panel to propose loosening restrictions on medical cannabis research. Well talk to Dr. Robert Hitzemann, a member of that panel.
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NEWS ROUNDTABLE: JANUARY 29, HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAND, PORTLAND ARTS FORUM, MAILBAG (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
We talk with political scientist Phil Brick about how the Malheur occupation fits into the history of conflicts over public lands in the west.
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HARNEY COUNTY OCCUPIERS SPEAK, BURNS UPDATE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING & PORTLAND AUDIT (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
We then turn to a discussion with Jon Chandler, CEO of the Oregon Homebuilders Association about the role of builders in affordable housing.
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SPECTACULAR DRONE VIDEO SHOWS OREGON SINKHOLE (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The gargantuan sinkhole that opened up near the Oregon coast this week is ready for its close-up and YouTuber Kyle Rice otherwise known as kyle0440 delivered.
On its Facebook page, the Oregon Department of Transportation shared spectacular drone footage of the sinkhole and slide in Curry County shot by Rice.
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FOUR HOLDOUTS REMAIN AT WILDLIFE REFUGE (Capital Press)
-During one early morning video posted by a man identified as David Fry, the armed occupiers express concerns about nearby aircraft.-
Four people occupying an Oregon wildlife refuge held their position Saturday and posted live videos that reveal their hyper-vigilance against federal officials who they fear may try to move them out to end the month-long standoff.
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JOSEPHINE COUNTY MOM, INFANT TESTED FOR ZIKA (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Local officials say mosquitoes that transmit the virus don’t live here-
A woman and infant daughter in Josephine County are being tested for the Zika virus, officials in that county announced Thursday.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is conducting the tests and should have results within the next three weeks, said Josephine County Public Health Director Diane Hoover.
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AS WE SEE IT: HERE’S HOPING LEGISLATORS WORK FOR THE GOOD OF THE ENTIRE STATE — OPINION (Douglas County News-Review)
During the short session of the Oregon Legislature, which begins Monday, wed like to see the House and the Senate, which represent the entire state, in fact, represent the entire state, including and especially, rural Oregon.
Rather than propose a legislative agenda with this writing, we have a few thoughts about how legislation should be enacted.
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LINN COUNTY COMMISSION CALLS GOVERNOR’S MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL UNCONSTITUTIONAL, DANGEROUS (KVAL)
Governor Kate Brown on Friday revised her proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage.
But the Linn County Commissioners contend the wage increase would be bad for the state’s economy – and may run afoul of the state constitution.
“It would be a mess,” Commission Chair Roger Nyquist said. “That’s not a situation we want.”
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SERIES OF HARBOR SINKHOLES CLOSE HIGHWAY, COULD COST MILLIONS TO REPAIR (KVAL)
Massive sinkholes are taking over Harbor, Ore. and US 101 has been shut down at milepost 358, affecting several businesses and traffic.
At 80 feet wide and about 50 feet deep, there’s a lot of work to be done.
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THINGS TO KNOW: OREGON LAWMAKERS BATTLE THE BALLOT (KTVZ Bend)
-From minimum wage to corporate taxes and renewable energy, lawmakers – or voters – may decide-
Monday marks the official kick-off to this year’s legislative session, but don’t be fooled by its speedy 35-day length – it’s already packed with multiple proposals that would have sweeping effects on Oregonians’ daily lives.
The Republican minority has been especially vocal about concerns there isn’t enough time to solve big issues this year. While many Democrats agree, they say a number of ballot measures proposed for November are forcing them to act.
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PACIFIC ISLANDERS HOPE OREGON LAWMAKERS RESTORE HEALTH BENEFITS (KUOW)
People from three Pacific island nations have the right to live and work in the United States, thanks to a unique 1986 treaty. But a separate Congressional action 20 years ago means that they are not eligible for Medicaid — even those who become taxpayers.
Many have settled in Oregon, where lawmakers will consider a bill in February that would require the state to subsidize medical care for people from these nations.
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OREGON LAWMAKERS TO KICK OFF 2016 SESSION (KUOW)
Oregon lawmakers return to the state Capitol Monday for a whirlwind legislative session. Legislators are expected to debate topics such as the minimum wage, corporate taxes, and gun control.
But that doesn’t mean any of those issues are necessarily going to pass.
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RANSACKED OREGON REFUGE: SIGN OF DISDAIN TOWARD AMERICAS RANGERS? (Christian Science Monitor)
-A public backlash against the Malheur occupiers also suggests American sympathy for those who work for the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the US Fish and Wildlife Department.-
A video showing a trash-strewn dormitory at the Malheur Federal Wildlife Refuge suggests in part a panicked escape as federal authorities cracked down on an armed occupation by anti-government activists in eastern Oregon.
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IS BURNS, ORE., GETTING BACK TO NORMAL? (Christian Science Monitor)
-After the armed militia standoff ended in one death last week, Burns residents see a long path back to ‘normal.’-
After the armed militia standoff ended in gunfire last week, the people of Burns, Oregon just want to everything to get back to normal.
We just want to go back to the way we were, Barbara Ormond, a small business owner in downtown Burns, told the Chicago Tribune. We want everyone to leave us alone.
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OREGON DEATH IS LATEST FLASHPOINT FOR MILITIAS, FEDS (The Hill)
The killing of Robert LaVoy Finecum in Oregon is the latest flashpoint between anti-government militia groups and the federal government.
Finecum, a spokesman for militants who have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for the past four weeks, was shot and killed at a traffic stop after FBI agents stopped he and other members of the group traveling to a meeting.
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AS TENSION SPREAD BEYOND THE OREGON REFUGE, THE FEDS MOVED ON BUNDY’S — BLOG (Idaho Statesman)
Ryan Bundy hammered and sawed on a veranda next to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge visitor center on Jan. 23, preparing to hang a sign.
He was preparing for what was essentially a reality television event that he and the others occupying the refuge planned to stage at 4 p.m. that Saturday for the media who had massed during the occupation that began three weeks before. He was hurrying to get ready for a gathering at 2 p.m. of ranchers the occupiers had invited to tear up their federal grazing permits in a show of defiance.
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STATES, CITIES TACKLE HOUSING CRISIS FOR LOW, MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES (Stateline)
In Roseau, Minnesota, there are good-paying jobs at the Polaris snowmobile factory. But a dearth of moderately priced housing means there are few places for the company’s managers and engineers to live.
Without more affordable housing, Polaris will have trouble growing in this northern Minnesota city of 2,600. The company wont disappear, said Todd Peterson, a community development coordinator in Roseau, but it cannot add new jobs without more housing, and is likely to expand elsewhere.
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WERE THE GRUNTS THAT GET STUCK BEHIND’: THE FINAL HOLDOUTS OF THE OREGON OCCUPATION (Washington Post)
The couple clutches each other beneath an overcast sky, swaying back and forth to the strains of Stainds Tangled Up in You, which blares through the open door of a truck. They’re wearing work boots and camouflage clothes and surrounded by packages of bottled water and other supplies. An American flag hangs limp in the still, chilly air.
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KILLING OF AN OREGON WILDLIFE REFUGE OCCUPIER HAS RE-ENERGIZED PROTESTERS (Washington Post)
BJ Soper has never supported the nearly month-long occupation of a national wildlife refuge by armed anti-government activists. He sympathized with their frustrations about the federal government, but he thought calm negotiation was a better strategy.
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WHY THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON TURNED TO NEIGHBORING STATES FOR STUDENTS (Washington Post)
Oregon’s flagship university boasts a well-heeled athletic program that has made it one of the most recognizable brands in college sports. Yet that has not shielded the University of Oregon from challenges facing many other public universities: a shrinking pipeline of local high school students and dwindling state appropriations.
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OREGON STANDOFF – REFUGE EMPLOYEES ITCHING TO TAKE STOCK OF DAMAGE (eenews.net)
As the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge winds down, employees who manage its 188,000 acres of marshes, lakes, alkali flats and rolling sagebrush hills are eager to return to the office.
With FBI agents surrounding the four militants who remain holed up at refuge headquarters, blocking their supplies, it’s likely only a matter of hours or days before the nearly monthlong occupation against federal land ownership comes to a close.
Refuge staff will soon assess the damage.
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MODAS FINANCIAL DOWNFALL BEGAN MONTHS AGO (The Lund Report)
-Now the partnership between OHSU and Moda could be at stake.-
Moda Healths spiral downward began long before the Oregon Insurance Division stepped into the picture earlier this week. The insurer actually started showing signs of distress last summer with mounting claims and few dollars to pay providers.
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DANNENHOFFERS ALLEGATION OF PROFITEERING AT CCO SHOWS PROBLEMS WITH SECRECY AND PUBLIC MONEY (The Lund Report)
-In his lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Eugene, Roseburg pediatrician and former Architrave CEO Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer alleges the Architrave board voted to delay correcting overpayments to physicians — a vote made in secret because CCOs are exempt from public meetings laws.-
A lawsuit waged against an operator of Medicaid services for one of the states coordinated care organizations has produced damning allegations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud that were made in part because of the secret environment that state policymakers have created for the CCOs to manage care for people on the Oregon Health Plan.
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NOSSE WANTS LAW TO TRACK BIOSIMILAR DRUGS WITHOUT RESTRICTING ACCESS (The Lund Report)
-An ongoing controversy over generic equivalents to complex biological drugs is resurfacing in the 2016 session, as patient advocacy groups and drug companies try again to require pharmacists to take extra steps to notify prescribers of a substitution when they dispense something other than a brand-name biological drug.-
Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, is bringing back a bill that requires pharmacists to give extra notification to medication prescribers when the pharmacist dispenses a cheaper, biosimilar equivalent to a brand-name biological drug.
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138,862 PEOPLE IN OREGON SIGNED UP FOR COVERAGE THROUGH HEALTHCARE.GOV (The Lund Report)
With less than one week remaining before the final enrollment deadline on January 31, about 8.9 million consumers have already signed-up for health coverage through the HealthCare.gov platform or had their coverage automatically renewed, including 138,862 in Oregon.
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HEALTH LEADERS LOOK BEYOND 2016 SESSION TO FULFILL POLICY GOALS (The Lund Report)
-A group of four Democrats and one Republican discussed their policy ideas in Portland on Wednesday, but aside from a few modest proposals for the upcoming February session, goals from single-payer to improved consumer product safety and better Medicaid regulations may wait until 2017 and beyond.-
Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, said shed go after funding for a loan repayment program for medical providers in the 2016 session, while other legislators dialed down expectations for this year and directed their goals to the future at an Oregon Health Forum event Wednesday morning in Portland attended by more than 160 health professionals. .
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DIVERSION CONTRACT CALLED INTO QUESTION (The Lund Report)
-Reliant Behavioral Health was awarded the new contract without a competitive bidding process.-
A multi-million contract awarded to Reliant Behavioral Health by the Department of Human Services is being called into question after the agency did not seek competitive bids.
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REFURBISHED PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD TACKLES PUBLIC HEALTH MODERNIZATION, WILL HELP IDENTIFY HOW TO DISTRIBUTE MONEY (The Lund Report)
Dubbed PHAB 2.0, a beefier, governor-appointed Public Health Advisory Board met for the first time Friday since the passage of HB 3100, the legislation that bulked it up with broader scope as a subcommittee to the Oregon Health Policy Board OHPB that can require public health authorities to access their current ability to implement foundational capabilities and programs and then tackle the job of helping them modernize.
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