Oregon’s health care reform efforts appear to be working, according to a new report on outcomes and finances.
The report looks at how Oregon’s system of Coordinated Care Organizations are doing under the Oregon Health Plan.
That population ballooned last year by more than 400,000 people as part of the Affordable Care Act. Nobody was quite sure whether they’d swamp the system.
Lori Coyner of the Oregon Health Authority said most of the CCOs got incentive money for meeting their goals.
“Thirteen of the 16 CCOs were awarded over 100 percent of their quality pool funds, which was very exciting to us," she said.
"Especially given the large increase in the Oregon Health Plan, we were not certain what it was going to look like at the end of this first year, but the Coordinated Care Organizations have done lots of work to make it happen," Coyner added.
The report shows a decrease in emergency room visits and that costs are being held down.
The state said some of the challenges include fewer cervical cancer screenings for women and more people asking for alcohol and drug treatment.
Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting
