Category Archives: Health Authority (OHA)

Editorial: Medicaid tax renewal deserves a robust debate

Gov. Kate Brown’s plan to fund Oregon’s Medicaid costs barely rates a mention in the long list of controversial issues ahead for the 2019 legislative session. New education funding, a green-energy proposal and rent control bills dominate discussion of the debates that lie ahead. Source: Editorial: Medicaid tax renewal deserves a robust debate | oregonlive.com

Opinion: A health care system built for people like me must change to serve everyone better

It’s a nightmare all of us have experienced or dread. Someone you care about has a medical emergency. Your teenager breaks a bone, your aging parent is in acute distress with complications from a chronic disease. They’re in terrible pain. You call 911. Help is on the way. Source: Opinion: A health care system built […]
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Data maps reveal Oregon teen sex trends

Rural youth report more sexual violence, earlier intercourse according to Oregon Health Authority. A new data map outlines the rates of sexual activity for the state’s youth — including violent and non-consensual sex — and underscores the troubling disparity between rural and urban Oregon. Source: Pamplin Media Group – Data maps reveal Oregon teen sex […]
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Washington officials declare public health emergency

UPDATE: Twenty-one cases of measles confirmed, most in children. Infected people attended Jan. 11 Trail Blazers game. Clark County officials declared a public health emergency Friday evening, Jan. 18, as a measles outbreak continued to spread. Source: Pamplin Media Group – Washington officials declare public health emergency

Recent stories on Oregon’s system for dealing with the criminally insane contained errors, flawed data

CORRECTION: Mistakes have been identified in statistics compiled in reporting on the recidivism of those who are judged “guilty except for insanity” compared to those freed from Oregon prisons. Those released by the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board are convicted of new crimes at a rate less than those released from prison. Over the past […]
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State blocks contractor from moving mentally ill Oregonians out of treatment homes

The Oregon Health Authority is taking aggressive action to ensure people with severe mental illness aren’t forced out of state-funded residential facilities, increasing oversight of a contractor that advocates have accused of improperly discharging vulnerable patients. Source: State blocks contractor from moving mentally ill Oregonians out of treatment homes | oregonlive.com

Opinion: Can CCOs Lead Us To Universal Health Care? 

The 2005 Oregon Legislature adopted the goal of universal health care. A 2016 RAND study determined that Oregon could enact a universal single payer health care system with no greater cost than that which Oregonians currently spend on health care through taxes, premiums, and out-of-pocket expenses. In 2017 the Legislature statutorily reaffirmed its goal of […]
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Ore. agencies add online tool to prevent youth sexual violence

An online mapping tool is now available to help communities in Oregon assess factors among adolescents that can lead to risky sexual practices and increase the risk of sexual violence. Source: Ore. agencies add online tool to prevent youth sexual violence

How partial federal government shutdown impacts Oregon’s government

The partial federal government shutdown is on its 24th day without an end in sight. On Monday, Elizabeth Craig, a spokeswoman for Oregon’s Department of Administrative Services, sent a KATU reporter the following breakdown of how the partial shutdown impacts various agencies in Oregon’s state government: “Impact of Federal Government Shutdown. Source: How partial federal […]
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A Hearing Aid For Each Ear, Under New Oregon Health Plan Policy

The Oregon Health Authority had long made patients wait five years to get a second hearing aid, even if they needed them for both ears. That’s changing. Source: A Hearing Aid For Each Ear, Under New Oregon Health Plan Policy