health care

Despite Oregon's decision to abandon its own health exchange system in favor of the federal portal, the State's Medicaid program is doing well.

A new report from the Oregon Health Authority says costs for inpatient hospital services decreased by about 5.5% since 2011. And there are 380,000 Medicaid enrollees in the new system. CareOregon's Director of Public Policy, Martin Taylor, says developing the State's Coordinated Care Organizations, or CCO's, helped ease the changeover to the federal exchange.

Dr. Lorne Bigley, a family physician for 24 years practicing in Eugene, is offering his patients shared appointments.  He discusses what's involved in serving eight to twelve patients at one time in one room.

Professor of Economics Gerald Friedman of the University of Massachusetts will be in seven Oregon cities this month, including Eugene, Portland, Corvallis and Bend (schedule below). He’ll be presenting on the merits of government financed universal -- “single payer” -- health care coverage. Professor Friedman is heard below in conversation with KLCC’s  Claude Offenbacher. 

{See pnhp.or/prof-gerald-friedman and "Gerald Friedman" on You Tube.}

May 13  LaGrande:  BMCC at Noon

May 13  Pendleton:  3:30 and 7 p.m. at EOU

Since the great recession, job security has been elusive. One bright spot is the health care field. Lane Community College in Eugene offers training programs to help students land well-paying jobs in the health care industry, including dental care. Lane recently opened a new dental clinic on Willamette Street where students can learn by treating patients.

Many who work in the hospital industry claim the “aura” of modern medicine has lulled many Americans into a false sense of security. Errors and accidents continue to harm or even kill patients at an alarming rate. KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports on the current state of hospital safety and what every potential patient should know.

Imagine shopping around for a new home, but instead of looking for a new place to live, you are looking for a place to die. That’s the situation 83-year-old Norma Chaty found herself in. It’s hard enough to lay the groundwork for one’s own death. It’s even harder for people like Norma, who are alone and have little money. This is a story of one woman’s choice between quality and quantity of life, and what she discovered about the business of dying.

Every other day, a driver picked up Norma Chaty and took her to Portland Adventist Medical Center.

The last day to sign up with Cover Oregon to get health insurance coverage on January 1st is today (December 4th). And because the website still isn't processing applications online, that means paper applications need to be faxed or postmarked no later than today.

Four healthcare sites in Oregon were awarded grants from the affordable care act Thursday. The funds, totaling over $2.3 million, will be used to bring community-based care to those who need it most.

The Umpqua Community Health Center in Roseburg was chosen to receive 316-thousand dollars. The money will be used to open and provide support for a new clinic in Sutherlin. Development Director Brenda Lewis says north Douglas County is currently underserved. She's excited because the benefits from the grant will be felt quite soon:

Oregon's health insurance exchange did not meet its goal of allowing online enrollment by the end of October. Officials at Cover Oregon announced Thursday they'll begin processing applications by hand. They say they've received more than 7,000 applications so far.

At an information session this week in Springfield, Kate Wheeler, coordinator of White Bird's "Cover Oregon" education program, explained the situation to about 12 participants.