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Building Healthier Lives by Addressing Social Determinants

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, COHO CCOs have continued to invest in their communities to improve access to health care services. One such investment serving thousands of Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members is the Trillium Resource Exchange, or T-REX for short.

This investment, made by Trillium Community Health Plan helps connect OHP members to nearby resources they need, like local food banks, housing and utility resources, and more. It’s translated into over 100 languages to help ensure language is not a barrier to accessing care.

This investment is not only available for OHP members. Traditional health care workers, providers, and others who work regularly with OHP members can access this database in order to provide extra support.

T-REX is a user-friendly program that allows health care providers, care teams, and non-profit services providers to send and receive referrals and update the status of referrals easily and efficiently. T-REX also connects to electronic health records so providers are able to seamlessly manage their patients’ care.

Why are investments like these important to Oregon’s health care system?

Investments like these address Social Determinants of Health and Equity (SDoH-E). Other examples of SDoH-E investments include funding food banks, shelters, interpreters, and more. These evidence-based investments help decrease health inequities and keep OHP members healthier.

Our CCOs have shown evidence-based SDoH-E play a significant role in a person’s health, in turn reducing the cost of health care for Oregon. We know that when individuals have food and housing security, they are more likely to be healthy. This focus on preventive services results in fewer ER visits and other more expensive health services – saving the state money. For these reasons, CCOs spend millions of dollars each year investing in specific supports that their individual communities need. Programs like T-REX make sure this network of resources is readily available to our most vulnerable communities.

Nurturing Investment

If our goal is to ensure Oregonians remain healthy, we need to create stable funding streams for initiatives that fit each of their communities’ unique needs. We are doing a disservice to Oregonians working to rise out of generational poverty, trauma, and poor health if the programs they rely on only exist in sporadic timelines.

We are working to identify sustained funding streams for programs with proven long-term health outcomes. Investing in overall health is long game, and our CCOs are intent on keeping these programs in place.

About COHO

COHO is a coalition of six locally-based coordinated care organizations charged by the legislature to deliver care to Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members. COHO CCOs serve just over 184,000 OHP members or approximately 16% of the statewide membership.

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COHO Medicaid Provider Solves Child’s Health Mystery

In the face of a pandemic, the Coalition for a Healthy Oregon’s coordinated care organizations (CCOs) have been stepping up to ensure their members receive the care they need promptly and effectively

Earlier this month, the Roseburg News-Review ran a story about a toddler, Jameson Wilson, who has a chronic condition called eosinophilic esophagitis. This condition causes an allergic reaction in the esophagus and was preventing Jameson from being able to eat, as well as causing him to break out in eczema rashes. The boy’s parents tried to switch his formula and consult his doctors, but his symptoms persisted, and he was unable to keep food down.

Finally, Jameson’s mother decided to switch his care to Tasha Rutledge, a nurse practitioner at Umpqua Health-Newton Creek, a health clinic operated by COHO member Umpqua Health Alliance and offers expert pediatric and adult primary care in Douglas County. Care for Jameson was immediately approved, and Jameson was put on a treatment plan that centered around eliminating foods and most formulas.

This was a large financial burden for Jameson’s parents, until the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program helped to cover the costs. However, since Jameson would potentially have this condition for the rest of his life, long-term solutions were necessary. Rutledge also approved for Jameson to have a gastronomy tube surgically inserted into his abdomen to deliver nutrition directly into his stomach.

Because CCOs are able to tailor delivery of care to the specific needs of their community, they are able to act quickly and provide the right care at the right time. Oregon has one of the most advanced Medicaid delivery systems in the nation, and this success story is one of the many examples that show the high-quality and effective care that COHO CCOs deliver across our state.

To read all about Jameson’s journey of receiving his gastronomy tube during COVID-19, you can read the full article here.

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Yamhill Community Care Joins COHO

Partnership Builds Momentum for COHO’s Aggressive Legislative Agenda

MCMINNVILLE, Oregon – The Coalition for a Healthy Oregon (COHO) is pleased to announce that Yamhill Community Care has joined its statewide association of coordinated care organizations that now represent more than 184,000 members of the Oregon Health Plan.

The six members of COHO provide high-quality health care and wellness services to people who qualify for Medicaid due to low income or disability.

“Yamhill CCO shares COHO’s values, which include a commitment to local, patient-centered care and innovation to improve population health,” said Doug Flow, COHO President. “The resources and perspectives brought by the hardworking professionals of Yamhill CCO will better position COHO for success in its 2021 legislative agenda and beyond.”

While presenting myriad challenges to the health care system, the coronavirus pandemic showed the strengths of Oregon’s local coordinated care model. With boots on the ground and strong relationships in every community, CCOs throughout Oregon were well positioned to provide immediate assistance to Medicaid recipients, participating providers, and county public health departments. However, the crisis has led to a steep decline in state revenues, which could jeopardize the viability of the system, particularly in rural areas. CCOs have been a critical lifeline for them private health care providers Oregonians rely on.

“COHO is Oregon’s most effective organization for CCO policy development and health systems innovation,” said Dr. Seamus McCarthy, CEO of Yamhill CCO. “We look forward to engaging strongly in the legislative process as a member of COHO and will benefit from its expert communications and top-tier governmental advocacy.”

COHO members provide health services that center and prioritize the patient-provider relationship. They have been top performers statewide in quality health metrics and keeping people out of high-cost care, such as emergency departments. The effect has been to save taxpayer dollars while improving population health, in line with Oregon’s Triple Aim for better health, better care, and lower costs.

Long before the recent focus on health equity, COHO has been a leader in addressing health disparities in underrepresented communities. By investing in the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity, COHO has worked to break down barriers to health through strategic investments and innovative policy development. This means addressing health factors like food, housing, education, and transportation to produce greater health outcomes for the most vulnerable members of our society.

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