2017 State Policy Priorities

2017 State Policy Priorities

OPCA is the statewide association of Oregon’s 32 Community Health Centers, also known as Federally Qualified Health Centers. These health centers are a key component of Oregon’s health care delivery system:

• Health centers serve over 400,000 Oregoniansand employ over 4,500 health providers and staff in rural and urban communitiesacross the state.
• With a focus on vulnerable patients, health centers are part ofCCO networks, and serve 1 in 4 patients on the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon’s Medicaid Program.
• Health centers amplify state investment in primary care by leveraging federal grants, primary care workforce programs and other resources, bringing greater value to both patients and taxpayers.

• Over 73% of Community Health Center patients live below the poverty line. In addition to providing integratedprimary care, health centers work to help patients improve the circumstances of their lives and develop healthy behaviors, such as job training, literacy education, and connection to resources for affordable housing and healthy food.

In 2017, we are working with policy makers and partners on the following state-level priorities:

Protect Patients on the Oregon Health Plan

• Explore revenue options and prevent cuts to the Medicaid budget.

• Preserve Community Health Centers’ ability to serve vulnerable populations when addressing the budget shortfall, and when implementing any Federal changes to Medicaid.
• SecureOregon’s 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiverto ensure ongoing access to care.

Cover All Kids

• Enact and implement Cover All Kidsto ensure all children in Oregon have access to health coverage, including the 17,000 children currently ineligible for Oregon’s Health Kids program.

Go Upstream to Lower Costs & Improve Health

• Align system-wide investments in Oregon’s patient-centered primary care home model that’s proven to improve outcomes and reduce costs.

• Outline the Future of CCOs, building on the success of the model toincrease access to services addressing the social determinants of health, and ensure patients and communities areat the center of the each CCO.

• Allow more health centers to join Oregon’s Alternative Payment Methodology and Advanced Care Model designedto drive better care, improve outcomes and lower the total cost of care.
• Improve care in rural and other underserved communities by strengthening health workforce programs.
• Address the housing crisis that’s increasing health care costs by strengthening protections for renters, and by funding affordable housing and other programs that prevent and address homelessness.

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