July 2010

Oregon Health Policy Board Committee Updates

This is the first monthly e-bulletin providing updates on the work of the committees, workgroups and councils of the Oregon Health Policy Board and Oregon Health Authority's health reform work. You received this bulletin because you are subscribed to an Oregon Health Authority or Oregon Health Policy Board e-mail notification service. This bulletin will be sent monthly and describes the work completed last month, as well as expected agenda items, meeting times and locations for the following month.

You can learn more about the work of committees, workgroups and councils on the Board's committee webpage and in the committee overview.

The Oregon Health Policy Board meets July 13. This month, the Board will hear the draft Health Improvement Plan recommendations and an update on the comprehensive plan framework, and there will be discussion on the Essential Benefits Package.

The Administrative Simplification Workgroup held its final meeting by conference call on June 1. They presented their recommendations at the June board meeting. Staff are now working with the Oregon Medical Association to arrange meeting with five to 10 small practices to discuss the work group recommendations; identify barriers to making the contemplated transition; discuss the kinds of support that would be useful to them; and explore what additional administrative simplification activities would be most helpful. The interviews will be complete by early August. A summary of the additional feedback and final committee and staff recommendations will be presented to the Board at the Aug. 10 meeting.

The Cost Sharing Workgroup did not meet in June and does not anticipate meeting until fall 2010. 

The Healthcare Workforce Committee met June 24 in Wilsonville. They reviewed and made changes to a one-page draft summary of their short-term priorities and strategic recommendations. Staff will make the changes and prepare a document with more details on each recommendation, including strategies that public and private entities can act on. The committee also heard from several experts on the topic of building a diverse and culturally competent workforce; their presentations will be available on the committee's website. The next meeting of the Healthcare Workforce Committee will be Wednesday, July 21, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Wilsonville Training Center (Room 111/112, 29353 SW Town Center Loop East in Wilsonville).

The full Incentives and Outcomes Committee did not meet in June. However, both of its subcommittees did meet. The next meeting of the full Incentives and Outcomes Committee is scheduled for Thursday, July 15, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at the Wilsonville Training Center (Rooms 111/112, 29353 SW Town Center Loop East in Wilsonville).

• The Payment Reform Subcommittee of the Health Incentives and Outcomes Committee met June 10 in Portland. They reviewed the guiding principles and decided to break into work groups to have more focused discussions on particular types of services, which they can bring back to the subcommittee for a discussion of next steps. Work groups are being established. The subcommittee's latest meeting was Thursday, July 8. The meeting focused on ensuring a common understanding of the work group tasks and processes, which will inform the subcommittee's effort to plan recommendations for next steps.
• The Quality and Efficiency Subcommittee of the Incentives and Outcomes Committee met June 10 in Portland. Updates were provided on the direction and progress of the three small work groups that will develop proposed common metrics in three areas: quality, effectiveness and safety; patient-centered care; and cost and efficiency. Work continues in each area. The latest meeting took place July 8. At the July 8 meeting, these workgroups assisted staff in developing a draft list of core and supplemental measures for consideration.

The Medical Liability Task Force met July 7 in Portland. The task force decided to prioritize three concepts for study. The first concept involves early disclosure and offering programs where healthcare facilities investigate adverse events quickly and offer compensation to patients who may have been injured because of a medical error or medical negligence. The second concept includes health court programs that establish alternative systems for adjudicating and compensating claims for damages resulting from medical error or medical negligence. The last concept includes safe harbor rules that protect physicians from liability if they follow state-endorsed clinical practice guidelines. The task force began this work with a discussion of disclosure and offering programs. At the next meeting, the task force will continue this discussion and begin considering the health court concept. That meeting will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Wilsonville Training Center, 29353 SW Town Center Loop East in Wilsonville.

The Oregon Health Improvement Plan Committee held three Community Listening Sessions in central Oregon (Bend, Madras and Prineville) and a committee meeting in Bend on June 10 and 11. On June 24 and 25, the eighth and final Community Listening Session and the seventh committee meeting were held at the Grand Ronde Tribal Community Center. These meetings mark the end of the information-gathering phase of the committee's work. The June committee meeting focused on reviewing and revising the draft guiding principles, goals, policies and recommendations, and population health metrics for the health improvement plan in preparation for the July 13 presentation to the Board. The committee will not meet in July and resumes a monthly schedule in August. In August, the committee will determine the process for gathering public input on the draft plan recommendations. The next committee meeting is Aug. 6 at the Juvenile Justice Center, Carmichael Training Room, 2727 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Eugene, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Public Employers Health Purchasing Committee did not meet in June. The next scheduled committee meeting is Sept. 27, 1 - 4 p.m. at the Wilsonville Training Center in Wilsonville (29353 SW Town Center Loop East). The committee will receive preliminary recommendations from several committees and decide which of those they will incorporate into their report to the Board. They will also discuss work that has taken place over the summer around standardized reimbursement methodologies and evidence-based best practice guidelines, and they will review the revised consumer educational tool for consensus.

The Health Information Technology Oversight Council (HITOC) met twice last month, on June 3 and June 17. HITOC Chair Steve Gordon, MD, and Carol Robinson, HITOC Director and Oregon's State HIT Coordinator, also presented to the Oregon Health Policy Board on June 8. These meetings focused on the Strategic and Operational Plans for Statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE). These plans must be submitted to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology by Aug. 31, 2010.

At the June 3 meeting, HITOC received final input from the HITOC Strategic Workgroup on outcomes and risks around the health information exchange. Updates from O-HITEC, Oregon's Regional Extension Center and on the Medicaid HIT planning process were provided. On June 17, HITOC released the report “Health Information Exchange: A Strategic Plan for Oregon” for public comment; download the Health Information Exchange report. HITOC also received an overview of the Operational Plan.

From mid-June through mid-July, HITOC held a series of community meetings across the state, along with webinars to gather input on the draft HIE Strategic Plan. For more information see the Statewide Strategic HIE Plan review and input opportunities. HITOC will be holding a webinar public meeting on July 27, time TBD, to discuss the Operational Plan.

The next regular HITOC meeting will be Thursday, Aug. 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Portland State Office Building in Portland (Room 1A, 800 NE Oregon St.). At this meeting, HITOC will be voting to approve the Strategic and Operational Plans for Health Information Exchange and will be discussing the workgroup structure for the next phase of work.

Health Insurance Exchange/Public Plan

In May and June, staff convened three meetings of a technical advisory work group to provide input on areas of state flexibility and the implications of various choices in building a health insurance exchange, a central marketplace for purchasing health insurance. OHA and Insurance Division staff participated in discussions with the technical advisory group members and are using the group input to complete a draft exchange business plan. In addition, the state is eagerly awaiting federal guidance on benefits and other standards related to exchanges. Staff will present draft exchange and public plan business plans to the board at its August meeting. Once the draft plans are made public, statewide public feedback will be solicited in September.

Comprehensive Plan

The proposed approach to the OHPB Blueprint for Health Reform will be presented to the board at its July meeting, providing the board an opportunity to discuss the approach and provide direction to staff. As the committees carry out the work outlined in this report and develop their recommendations, staff will work iteratively with the Board to develop draft sections of the Blueprint.

The Oregon Health Authority is a leader in the effort to innovate for quality and affordable health care in Oregon, by putting the care back in health care, improving the health of Oregonians, and working to lower the cost of care so it is affordable and accessible to everyone.

Find more information at: www.Oregon.gov/OHA or by e-mailing OHA.Info@state.or.us.

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