Medicaid Experiment – Oregon

Oregon’s Medicaid experiment represents a ‘defining moment’, By Kristian Foden-Vencil, May 30, 2012, National Public Radio: “The things that Amy Vance does for James Prasad are pretty simple: She calls doctors with him, organizes his meds, and helps him keep tabs on his blood pressure, blood sugar and weight. These simple things – and the relationship between a health coach like Vance and a chronically ill Medicaid patient like Prasad – are a big part of a $2 billion health care experiment in Oregon. Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat and a former emergency room doctor, has convinced the federal government that he has a way to make Medicaid treatment better, and cheaper, by completely changing the way the sickest people in Oregon get health care…”