History
The Oregon Health Plan was conceived and realized by emergency room doctor (and current Oregon governor) John Kitzhaber, then a state senator, and Dr. Ralph Crawshaw, a Portland activist.
It was intended to make health care more available to the working poor, while rationing benefits. At the time, Oregon was considered a national leader in health care reform. Oregon was one of the earliest states to end payments for unnecessary non-therapeutic circumcision.
The law passed in Oregon was not initially compatible with federal law, so a waiver was needed. President Bill Clinton approved the plan on March 20, 1993, though he required a revision to the plan due to a concern about whether disabled people would have equal access. At the time, Medicaid covered 240,000 Oregonians.
In 1994, the plan's first year of operation, nearly 120,000 new members signed up, and bad debts at Portland hospitals dropped 16%.
The plan's costs increased from $1.33 billion in 1993-1995 to $2.36 billion in 1999-2001. Significant cuts were made to the Oregon Health Plan's budget in 2003.
New enrollment in the program was closed from mid-2004 until early 2008, when a lottery-based system was introduced. Tens of thousands of Oregonians signed up, competing for 3,000 new spots in the plan.
The Oregon Health Plan was expanded to cover 80,000 uninsured children through legislation that passed in 2009. The program has enrolled 38,000 additional children through February, 2010. As of 2012, there are more than 100,000 children enrolled.
Oregon's proposed Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) transformation was initiated by Oregon House Bill 3650, which was passed by the state Legislature with bi-partisan support in June 2011. In March, Oregon Senate Bill 1580 was signed into law by Governor John Kitzhaber establishing Coordinated Care Organizations, which will focus on prevention and coordination of physical, mental and dental care for Oregon Health Plan clients.
Starting in 2012, Oregon Health Plan clients have a new type of health plan called Coordinated Care Organizations or CCOs. A CCO is a network of all types of health care providers who are working together for people who receive health care coverage under the Oregon Health Plan. CCOs integrate physical, mental and eventually dental care for better health, better care and lower costs. CCOs focus on prevention of illness and disease and improving care to keep patients healthy and to manage existing health conditions.
The legal foundation for the OHP is generally spelled out in Chapter 414 of the Oregon Revised Statutes.
Read more about this topic: Oregon Health Plan
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