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 December Governor’s budget angers senior advocates Governor Ted Kulongoski made a few friends, but raised the ire of others when he released his recommended budget in early December. The document expands the Department of Human Services budget by 4.1 percent next biennium from $9.2 billion to $9.6 billion. Yet there’s plenty of dissatisfaction coming from the senior and disabled community which witnessed a decline that advocates are calling outrageous. Vanishing health care There’s little doubt about it. More Oregonians are going bare. In August, 16 percent of the state’s population lacked health insurance, according to Dr. Bruce Goldberg, administrator of the Office of Health Policy and Research. The Oregon Progress Board is expected to release updated figures in late December, but a turn around seems unlikely. As the number of uninsured grows, access to health care providers becomes more critical. Oregon’s policymakers are about to learn the seriousness of this problem. In September, 10,500 physicians received a survey asking, among other things, whether they planned to stop delivering babies or no longer accept Medicare patients. OMPRO, which is tabulating the results, heard from 2,700 doctors in current practice, according to Jennifer Pathak, MS, RN, contract manager for state and private services. The peer review organization has a contract with the state Medicaid agency to analyze the results. The Oregon Medical Association, the Office of Health Policy and Research and Oregon Health & Science University helped develop the survey instrument. Bulk drugs for sale A state-run program to bring cheaper drugs to low-income Oregonians hasn’t left the tracks, but don’t tell that to Missy Dolan. She’s brimming with enthusiasm about reducing the price of pharmaceuticals for the most needy. And she’s doing it with very little money, while the pharmaceutical industry watches her every move. If Dolan is able to negotiate an overall 15 percent savings on drugs and 25,000 people join the state program she runs, savings could amount to $8.5 million, “off a moving target because drug prices can go up anytime,” she said. “I’m negotiating right now, and asking for as much as I can get. I need to bring the best price forward.” (Mis)management With employers facing another steep increase in health insurance premiums next year, cost-saving measures are on everybody’s New Year’s resolution. It comes as no surprise, then, that disease management programs are a hot item on holiday wish lists. Welcome back Barney When Barney Speight announced he was leaving Kaiser Permanente to become administrator of the state Medicaid agency, people wanted to know what prompted his decision. That led to an interview with Diane Lund-Muzikant, editor of Oregon Health News. Speight’s no newcomer to state government. Before joining Kaiser he ran the Office of Health Policy and Research. OHN: Why did you leave such a lucrative job at Kaiser to become a state employee once again? BS: It seemed like an interesting place to be for the last six years of my professional life. It sounded like fun and seemed like an environment of profound vitality and change, where I could find meaning and intellectual insight. Another take on torts As if quoting Shakespeare’s famous maxim “The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers,” a state medical malpractice panel led by retired Supreme Court Justice Jacob Tanzer concluded lawyers are unduly cluttering up the legal system. The Professional Panel for the Analysis of Medical Professional Liability Insurance’s final report found only 40 percent of jury awards ended up in the hands of victims, with most of the remaining money going to defense and plaintiff attorneys. Comparatively, workers’ compensation and automobile accidents managed to get 50-60 percent of settlements into the pockets of the injured. Finding more nurse instructors When the baby boomers reach that magical age and find themselves in a hospital or a long-term care facility, the nursing shortage will hit home -- in either 2010 or 2012, said Kristine Campbell, PhD, RN, executive director of the Oregon Center for Nursing. Oregon doesn’t have difficulty attracting students to nursing schools, but there’s definitely a faculty shortage. “We’re turning away a lot of nursing applicants who are qualified and are behind the curve,” said Campbell. Patching up the tobacco quit line The phone keeps ringing off the hook at the tobacco quit line; and it’s not because of holiday telemarketers. The state started giving free nicotine patches to smokers starting Oct. 5. It expected a 10 percent spike in calls but has experienced 20 times its normal volume as over 10,000 people dialed (877) 270-STOP in October. “The program succeeded beyond our wildest dreams,” said Dr. Mel Kohn, state epidemiologist. Charity care goes through the roof It’s the time of year for giving, and nobody’s feeling more altruistic this holiday season – albeit reluctantly – than Oregon hospitals. In 1996, they provided $49.9 million in charity care. By 2003, that number had increased to $150.4 million. In the past 12 months, charity care has gone up another 54 percent. “The percentage increases are just off the wall,” said Ken Rutledge, president of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. Also in this issue...
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