Pat Allen,
who has 25 years in public service, comes to OHA after six years as the
director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, where he oversaw
the regulation of the commercial insurance market, worker safety and health,
the financial services industry, building codes and other services. Pat is a
native Oregonian and a member of Governor Kate Brown’s health care cabinet.
“When
Governor Brown appointed me, she gave me a charge to promote transparency, the
wise use of public dollars, and integrity throughout OHA’s many programs,” Pat
told OHA staff in an email. “Those will be my guiding principles as I step into
this job and I know you share those priorities too. We will work together to
consistently put them into practice every day, in every decision we make, and
in every interaction we have with the public, partners, and policymakers.”
Pat became acting Director Sept 1.
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The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has completed the
eligibility clean-up of 115,233 Medicaid members, meeting the August 31
deadline set for the agency by Governor Kate Brown. These members represent a
subset – and the final phase – of a total 951,186 Medicaid eligibility renewals
OHA completed since March 2016.
Under the Action Plan review:
- 60,353 Medicaid members were found eligible
- 31,895 were closed due to non-response
-
22,937 were found to no longer qualify.
The number of case closures will
fall. Federal law provides a standard 90-day period in which Medicaid members
who fail to respond or have changed circumstances can return to the caseload
and qualify for retroactive benefits.
The 20 percent of member cases
found no longer qualified for benefits represents less than 2 percent of the
total Oregon Medicaid caseload.
The federal government in September 2015 allowed Oregon to
defer Medicaid eligibility renewals until a reliable replacement for Cover
Oregon was in place. Under federal law, every child and adult on Medicaid
remains eligible for coverage until the state completes an administrative
renewal. Once OHA replaced Cover Oregon with the ONE Eligibility System, the
agency restarted renewals.
All Oregon Health Plan members are now on a regular cycle for
annual renewal review.
Post-Cover Oregon, the new eligibility system has showed
improved eligibility rates and improved contact rates. Fewer people are found
ineligible. (See chart below).
For more details on the Action Plan work, a
preliminary report is available online.
 
OHA remains committed to improving access,
quality and the integration of behavioral health with physical and oral health.
To meet this commitment, Behavioral Health Collaborative (BHC)
implementation work groups have been convening throughout the summer to
meet an August 31 deadline.
The work groups are tackling
topics under these five areas: government and finance, standards of care and
competencies, workforce, peer delivered services and health information
technologies.
The work groups are making progress and have
completed the majority of tasks. Due to the complexity of the task, some work
will continue into the fall.
“Please join me in extending thanks and
appreciation to the individuals serving on these work groups,” said Royce
Bowlin, OHA behavioral health director. “Look for a report in
September that summarizes the work of these dedicated stakeholders and
outlines the next steps. I am excited to see the results of their work.”
The BHC work group recommendations will drive
Oregon's behavioral health system forward. The deep dive the work groups are
taking this summer will contribute to a comprehensive plan, which also includes
the Oregon Performance Plan, legislative direction and expectations, and
addressing the opioid epidemic.
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