Oregon League of Women Voters Look and Compare!!

Given the changing health care landscape, what do you see as key health care opportunities and challenges for Oregon in the next few years? Timothy E McMenamin
The Affordable Care Act’s text is unambiguous about how the insurance exchanges are supposed to work. According to the law, federal subsidies are available through exchanges"established by the State.” Thirty-six states didn’t set up exchanges. In some cases, their elected leaders decided not to. Other states tried to build their own. In many cases—among them Oregon, Maryland, Vermont, and Hawaii―they failed.
onyourballot.vote411.org/race-detail.do?id=1208105...nF-Sr
#orcot #orpol #coveroregon #OHA #DHS #Kitzcare #obamacare #timmcmenamin #mcmenamin4or #portland #orgon


https://chumly.com/n/2902117

Warren Buffet has donated $1.2 BILLION to abortion rights groups

Warren Buffet has donated $1.2 BILLION to abortion rights groups. That money would fund roughly 2.7 million abortions (two years' worth of abortions in the United States) and would end the equivalent number of lives as Chicago's entire population. He also has funded the development of RU-486, the purchasing of suction aspiration machines for other countries and the use of quinacrine for forced sterilization around the globe. fxn.ws/RT2IaK
#ortl #multrtl #mrtl #orcot #tcot #prc #plannedparenthood #obamacare #orpol #orgop #mcmenamins


https://chumly.com/n/286911b

Cover Oregon consultant bills state about $600,000

The Oregonian reports Clyde Hamstreet has completed his job stabilizing Oregon's health care exchange. But the cost of his work and two associates has added up nearly $600,000 and he hasn't submitted his August invoice. Hamstreet was initially signed to a $100,000 contract in April but the scope of his contract grew and the dollar amount was amended as well. Gov. John Kitzhaber asked Hamstreet to take over the exchange in April when he forced out three top officials. He was hired for a four-to-six-week job that extended into five months because the reorganization turned out to be a bigger job than expected.
www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2014/...95625
#coveroregon #OHA #DHS #kitzcare #obamacare #pdxevents #mcmenamins #timmcmenamin #mcmenamin4or


https://chumly.com/n/2828f9c

Feds cite 'fundamental concerns' with Oregon's coordinated care model

The Oregonian reports this morning that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cited "fundamental concerns" with parts of Oregon's coordinated care organization model.
The "directive could eventually even force the state to return hundreds of millions of dollars received from the federal government," the paper's Nick Budnick wrote.
www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2014/08/....html

#ccoveroregon #oregonhealthcare #DHS #OHA #CCO's #obamacare #kitzcare


https://chumly.com/n/280f4c5

Cover Oregon's Aaron Patnode is 4th director in 6 months

How About Hiring A Native Oregonian and a Republican just as a Good Will Measure! DURHAM — The Cover Oregon board unanimously voted to hire a Kaiser Permanente official to become the state health exchange's permanent executive director Thursday.
Pending contract negotiations, Aaron Patnode, who is responsible for Kaiser Permanente's implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Oregon and Washington, will take over an organization under immense scrutiny, turbulence and uncertainty. Patnode has worked for Kaiser Permanente since 2009, in various roles. He also has experience in public relations and hospital administration. He has a bachelor's degree in communications from Boston College and a Master of Business Administration and Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota.
www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/health/2014/06...80187

Comment with YES if you want your money back!

Did you know that each Cover Oregon enrollee cost taxpayers almost $4,000? This is the kind of wasteful, failed spending that we must eliminate to get Oregon back on track. See our full infographic on Cover Oregon here: www.dennisrichardson.com/cover_oregon

It's time to admit the failure of Cover Oregon and protect the taxpayers from further losses

Report: it will take $45M and almost two years to ‘fix’ Cover Oregon. That’s under current conditions (keep the database, keep current vendor Oracle), at least according to the Deloitte Development report that the state of Oregon commissioned on how to get from under the horrible state exchange disaster inflicted on Oregon by Governor John Kitzhaber and his fellow Democrats. Reading the report, it looks like Deloitte’s recommendation would be that Oregon simply cut Cover Oregon loose and join the federal exchange. As the Oregonian noted: Oregon could hook up to the federal exchange far sooner and for a fraction of the cost, according to the report obtained by The Oregonian. A hybrid solution mixing the federal exchange and an unfinished Oracle-based small-business section of the exchange would also be faster than sticking with the current plan, as well as cheaper.
www.redstate.com/2014/04/05/cover-oregon-john-kitz...hange

Cover Oregon to decide whether to fix website or adopt federal exchange

Cover Oregon’s now-infamous website failed to work on Oct. 1, when people were supposed to be able to enroll for health insurance online. It won’t be fully functional by the current Monday deadline, so the board’s next task is to guarantee a working website by Nov. 15, the day people can start to enroll in plans for 2015. The Cover Oregon board will decide in two weeks whether to adopt the federal health insurance exchange website or hire a new contractor to fix the existing site, officials told the Legislative Oversight Committee on Tuesday. The details of the proposals have not been worked out, including cost, the manpower needed to implement each solution, how the project would be managed or the requirements for the new contract. The report to the committee offered a third solution as well — piggy-backing on another state’s system — but Rep. Jim Thompson, R-Dallas, said it appeared most likely the board would choose between the federal exchange and using a new vendor.
www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20140326/NEWS/303...hange

Should Cover Oregon stay the course or cut bait and seek IT elsewhere?

Should Cover Oregon stay the course or give up on its IT and switch to technology from another state or the federal exchange? Cover Oregon is looking at four basic options: stick with what it has now, either with its current contractor Oracle or a new vendor; transfer functioning technology from another state, in whole or in part; use the federal exchange technology; or purchase a technology product to replace the current system. A committee made up of Cover Oregon staff and board members and representatives of several health plans and the Oregon Health Authority has been discussing options."We’re having ongoing conversations,” Aaron Karjala, Cover Oregon’s chief information officer, told the board last week. The exchange also hired consulting giant Deloitte to conduct an analysis of various options, but its findings have not been made public.
www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/health-care-inc/....html

Cover Oregon enrolled thousands of undocumented immigrants in violation of federal law!!

Nearly 4,000 applicants for a state program that provides undocumented immigrants with pregnancy services were instead enrolled in full Oregon Health Plan coverage, contrary to federal law, thanks to problems with the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange. The pregnancy program goof, however, is just one of many little-known problems that Oregon Health Plan members, providers, care groups and state officials have wrestled with as Oregon’s system for enrolling people undergoes chaotic change.
www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/03/cover_....html

Gov. John"Don’t mention Cover Oregon” Kitzhaber!!

Gov. Kitzhaber sent out a press release on Thursday that makes it sound like he’s announcing some new great tax credits that provide"better coverage” and"affordable costs” for Oregonians purchasing health insurance.
What he was actually announcing was the government doing yet another special exception to make up for the myriad problems caused by his disastrous Cover Oregon roll out. The tax credits are ones Oregonians should already have been able to claim if Cover Oregon had been working.
oregoncatalyst.com/26668-gov-john-mention-cover-or....html

Cover Oregon says 700 have enrolled online??

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A Cover Oregon official says insurance agents and community groups have been able to enroll about 700 people in health coverage entirely online.
Chief Information Officer Aaron Karjala revealed the number to a state legislative committee on Friday.
Cover Oregon launched its website for a limited group of experts earlier this week, more than four months after it was originally scheduled to be operational.
There's still no date for when the system will launch to the general public. Karjala says developers are regularly testing and fixing elements of the system. Individuals working without an agent or certified expert can continue to apply, but Cover Oregon staff will have to process a portion of their application by hand.
www.katu.com/politics/local/Cover-Oregon-says-700-....html

Children’s Cancer Research Held Hostage to Light Rail Now?

Using kids to force their political agenda, sickening! Oregon Democrats and Gov. John Kitzhaber are trying to tie the Columbia River Crossing to the OHSU Children's Cancer Research Center funding bond.
lewwaters.com/2014/02/21/cancer-research-held-host...l-now

Former IT chief Lawson steered California contracts to her future Oregon deputy!!

Carolyn Lawson, the former Oregon Health Authority official at the center of the storm of Oregon's non-functional health insurance exchange, was investigated by the state of California for inappropriate contracting in 2008, The Oregonian has learned. Upon being hired by the California Public Utility Commission in 2008, Lawson funneled five contracts worth nearly $500,000 in a four-month period to the small consulting company run by her former boss in the private sector. The former boss was Steven Powell, who Lawson later hired as her senior deputy in Oregon.
www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/02/cove....html

The separation of powers in our Constitution is very clear!!

Back in 2009 (when the democrats had super majorities) we created the Oregon Health Authority as a new state agency. We also ceded to them a lot of the authority that historically belonged to the legislative branch. Along with that we created the insurance exchange (Cover Oregon) as a public corporation, which put them outside the control of the legislature. I think we are headed for a massive train wreck and it may be by design. The reason I say this is because our Governor, and many members in the legislature truly want the complete government takeover of the health care system and this may be the way to accomplish that. I will go into more details during the February Session on this issue. I will close this with a request. I know there are many people who are fed up with government. I know there are also many people to whom one particular issue is the most important to them. What I am asking is twofold. First, stay engaged. It is more important now than at any time I can remember for the people to hold politicians accountable. Secondly, expand your interest beyond your singularly most important issue. I still believe you can do a better job of running your life than the government can, and we are losing these essential freedoms.

Anyone who is on Medicare or is assisting anyone on Medicare needs to file this information away for future use!!

This ran on NBC Evening News and I thought I should send it to all my friends on Medicare as a warning. I've included the segment for you to view. Basically, do not let the hospital admit you with the words "Under Observation." Insist on "In-Patient"designation. Otherwise, you could be responsible for some serious expenses. If your hospital stay is classified as "Under Observation", Medicare will not pay for rehab following your hospitalization.
www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/54026469/#54026...26469

New Cover Oregon allegations 'If it's true, someone's going to prison'

KATU reports"Sheehan, who spent two years on the state legislature’s joint IT oversight committee, said somebody approached him in December with a disturbing allegation. Sheehan said ‘It was communicated to me that something – one of these gate reviews having to do with a benchmark for federal funding – that the State of Oregon was not being truthful. That was the allegation that was made and that was serious enough that I had to go to talk to the FBI.” Sheehan said he took his concerns to the FBI in December, and that he’s talked to investigators several times since.”
www.katu.com/news/investigators/Cover-Oregon-alleg...p;c=y

SOMETIMES HEARING WHAT GOES ON IN SALEM JUST BURNS ME UP!!

Long-term care insurer fined by Oregon Insurance Division!! The Oregon Insurance Division announced it has fined Bankers Life and Casualty Co., one of the state’s largest long-term care insurers, $115,000 for improper claims handling. The Insurance Division directed Bankers Life to review 26,000 claims involving 2,069 policyholders as far back as Jan. 1, 2010 to find any other cases where the company owes benefits. The Chicago-based company also must change practices to ensure proper claims handling going forward, according to a news release from the state Insurance Division.

ObamaCare Gives The IRS Real Time Access To Your ATM Savings Account!!

ObamaCare Gives The IRS Real Time Access To Your ATM Savings Account To All Americans Savings Accounts!! WoW, and I thought Johnny Depp was a Pirate!

Oregon health exchange technology troubles run deep due to mismanagement!!

"Shut it down," said Rocky King, Cover Oregon's executive director. "Let's not waste anybody else's time here." OHA's advisors said a systems integrator was necessary. "The state does not have the development resources with the requisite experience," consulting firms Wakely Consulting Group and KPMG wrote in a joint March 2011 report. They added that the integrator could lead to "significantly lower" overall costs. In July 2011, OHA was poised to follow that advice. It solicited a systems integrator to oversee the exchange work. But that month Oregon Health Authority Director Bruce Goldberg hired Carolyn Lawson to become chief technical officer of OHA. Four months into the two-year exchange project, Lawson changed its entire makeup. She launched a sweeping reorganization of the team working on it, and canceled the solicitation for a systems integrator deciding it would save the state money, documents show. The state would be its own systems integrator.
www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2013/12/oregon....html