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 June State investigators look into Lane County IPA A state and federal investigation into the operations of Lane County IPA, an Oregon Health Plan contractor, could have repercussions that stretch far beyond its borders and impact the entire delivery system. Senator Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield) is calling upon state officials to look into the business practices of all the for-profit health plans that provide coverage to health plan members. “There tends to be perhaps a conflict of interest in terms of profits and making money,” he said. “I want to know whether other organizations are doing a good job relating to the public and providing services.” Voting on health care Oregon’s reputation for being the most initiative happy state in the union will be firmly intact come November. Voters may weigh in on as many as four major health policy measures. Here’s a rundown on those most likely to reach the ballot. Saif Corp. Quite simply, Saif’s biggest competitor, Liberty Northwest, wants to put it out of business. Ballot measure 90 reads: “It is the intent of the people that the state of Oregon get out of the insurance business.” Liberty wants proceeds from the sale of Saif – which could fetch as much as $800 million – to be used for education, prescription drugs, law enforcement and workforce training. Tort Reform Chalk up two wins for the trial lawyers. The Oregon Medical Association planned to put two tort reform initiatives on the fall ballot – limiting non-economic damages and attorneys’ fees. HealthOregon While the National Federation of Independent Business is sweating a measure to abolish Saif Corp., it has no worries about HealthOregon’s attempt to create a universal health care system. Medicinal Marijuana In 1998, 54 percent of Oregonians voted in favor of allowing patients with debilitating medical conditions to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. Since then, almost 9,000 Oregonians have been legally cleared to grow up to three marijuana plants to treat conditions such as cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. It’s a great first step for supporters, but far from ideal. Children’s Health Care Organized labor has withdrawn an initiative to provide health insurance to all children in Oregon. That’s good news for groups such as AOI, which surely would have opposed the 2 percent payroll tax. It’s bad news, however, for the 80,000 Oregon children without health insurance. Walker walks away What’s wrong with Multnomah County’s Mental Health and Addiction Services Division? Why have four administrators come and gone in the last three years? No one’s saying, but many people suspect it’s because of Dr. Peter Davidson, who has an incredible amount of influence and control even after he moved into Commission Chair Diane Linn’s office as the county’s clinical services coordinator and was told to keep his hands off administrative affairs in the division. When the latest administrator left – Derald Walker – it hit Commissioner Serena Cruz hard. She called his departure a big loss and has grave concerns about whether the county is headed in the right direction. “We really need to focus on implementing the changes that will make our system better,” she said. “Personnel changes like Derald Walker don’t help us get there.” Solucient founder talks health care Recently, J.D. Kleinke, a medical economist and author, moved to Portland. A founding executive of HCIA, now Solucient, a health care information services company, he’s also a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. Kleinke shared his views about our health care system with Oregon Health News Editor Diane Lund-Muzikant. OHN: What’s the major problem with our health care system? JD: The system’s been cobbled together by complete accident. Health care is the end result of a thousand historic accidents and policy mistakes and good intentions derailed by reality. We play out all these cultural and political problems that have nothing to do with health care – whether it’s abortion rights or the appropriateness of making money on the backs of poor people. Doctors are incentivized to over-treat, over operate and over admit because they get paid more. Managed care failed to fix that. It tried to gut the entire system too quickly and change everything about physician payment overnight with no data, no guidance, no leadership, no communication. If you want to find out why people are doing what they are in health care, don’t listen to what they say, watch what they actually do. Follow the money. The rules of health care are sell it and someone will buy it. Also in this issue...
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