OregonHealthCare.gov is the state’s website for buying health insurance coverage. Oregon’s governor, lawmakers and state agency officials have often touted the state’s reproductive rights law as one of the most comprehensive and equitable in the country. But there’s a problem: Many insurers providing coverage to more than 1 million Oregonians[Read More…]
Tag: HEALTH CARE
State ‘back on track’ in creating network of addiction treatment, prevention services, audit says
A hallway leads to patient bedrooms for the medically managed withdrawal program at Bridgeway in Salem, where patients can detox from drugs and alcohol (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The state’s implementation of a new drug prevention and treatment network to help tens of thousands of people with addiction problems appears to[Read More…]
Thousands of Oregonians likely to face sticker shock when they buy health insurance for 2023
OregonHealthCare.gov is the state’s website for buying health insurance coverage. More than 300,000 Oregonians who buy health insurance for themselves or through a small group plan are likely to see a spike in premiums next year. The health insurance companies that offer plans on the individual marketplace and those that[Read More…]
Oregon needs more financial aid for nursing students and more educators, experts say
Nurses staff a mobile vaccine clinic in Salem (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) More scholarship money and perhaps tax credits would help stem Oregon’s nursing shortage, according to nursing students and deans of Oregon nursing schools. In an one-hour online discussion on Wednesday, they told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, that having[Read More…]
Oregon medical providers rely on diminishing number of out-of-state nurses, study finds
A Salem Health nurse at a monoclonal antibody treatment center. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Thousands of patients in rural areas of the state might not get high quality medical care in the future if the number of out-of-state nurses practicing in Oregon continues to fall, according to a new study. The[Read More…]
Lawmakers propose plan to expand access to primary health care, including visits to therapists
An empty waiting room at a Salem medical clinic(Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Oregon lawmakers are considering a proposal that aims to expand access to primary health care for thousands of Oregonians. House Bill 4083 would require insurers selling individual and group plans on the federal health insurance marketplace by 2024 to offer[Read More…]
Patients responding well to treatment following first cases of drug-resistant yeast in Oregon
Salem Hospital (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) One of the Salem Hospital patients infected with a strain of drug-resistant yeast is responding well to treatment, and two others have shown no signs of infection despite testing positive for the fungus, health officials said. Salem Health and the Oregon Health Authority on Tuesday[Read More…]
Oregon health officials urge boosters, say Omicron surge will see thousands hospitalized by February
A nurse cares for a Covid patient in the intensive care unit at Salem Hospital on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) State health officials warned Friday the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is expected to put thousands of Oregonians in the hospital by February – more than double[Read More…]
State audit finds $1.6 million in likely inappropriate Medicaid payments related to hospital stays
(Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) A state audit of Medicaid payments by the Oregon Health Authority found that $1.6 million was likely spent on services that were not allowed while patients were in the hospital. The audit was narrow: The Secretary of State’s office studied payments related to 25 people[Read More…]
Oregonians faced dozens of price increases for drugs last year
Oregonians got clobbered again last year with drug price increases (Wikimedia Commons) Drug prices rose again last year for dozens of drugs in Oregon, and nearly 200 new higher-priced drugs hit the market. Those are two highlights from Oregon’s latest drug price transparency report, which will be released next week.[Read More…]