Small Doses: Oregon’s top health official calls for postpartum care reform

Editor’s note: Small Doses is a semi-regular column that rounds up news briefs and scuttlebutt related to health care in Oregon and southwest Washington. Have a tip? Send it to or send it encrypted using proton.me.
 

Sejal Hathi calls for new direction on postpartum care

Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi drew on her own experience as a new mother for a New York Times op-ed Sunday to raise awareness of deficiencies in postpartum care for parents of newborns. 

In the essay, Hathi, a doctor, describes how pregnant women in the U.S. can receive nine months of relatively intense supervision from providers, but “then she has the baby — and the system moves on.”

There’s scant follow-up with mothers, who often face depression as well as physical issues such as tears separating their abdomen muscles, Hathi wrote. 

And she experienced that firsthand, writing that “... the general OB clinic was stretched so thin it had stopped scheduling new postpartum patients. My primary care physician said postpartum recovery was outside her scope. So I assembled my own care: researching my symptoms, calling pelvic floor therapists, coordinating referrals. 

She added. “I am a physician who runs her state’s health agency. I had good insurance, paid leave and a fluency with institutions most new mothers should never need. What I did not have was a single provider who could serve as a quarterback for my care.”

Hathi called for revamping the prevailing model of care, including reimbursements, to treat “mother and infant as a single unit of care, both clinically and financially, through the first year of life.”

It’s not the first time Hathi has called for change while noting that coverage does not mean the same thing as access. Soon after she started in Oregon she noted the state’s high rate of health insurance coverage does not actually translate into meaningful access. When she first moved to the state to start her job in early 2024, the soonest she could schedule a primary care checkup was 13 months away, according to her initial round of calls to providers. 
 

Multnomah County takes aim at Medicare fraud with free shredding drop-off

Every year, fraudsters bilk older Americans and taxpayers out of billions of dollars, often involving identifying information pulled from sensitive documents. 

Coming up, in recognition of Medicare Fraud Prevention Week, Multnomah County is offering a free shred event, May 30, so people can dispose of personal documents securely. 

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until the shredding disposal truck runs out of space. It will happen in the parking lot outside the Multnomah County Aging, Disability and Veterans Services Division office, 11982 N.E. Glisan St., Portland OR 97220.

The event is organized by county officials and Senior Medicare Patrol, a federally funded program to help people prevent, detect, and report health care fraud. Members of the program will be available at the event to answer questions.

In addition to proper document disposal, people are cautioned to be alert for unsolicited phone calls asking for personal information, unfamiliar companies offering products and services, or shipments of supplies that are not needed. Common scams include fraudulent offers of medical equipment or genetic testing.

Recipients are encouraged to review their Medicare statements or access them online at Medicare.gov and report fraudulent activity right away. Learn more by calling the 24/7 Aging and Disability Resource Connection Helpline at 1-855-673-2372. People can also contact a no-cost program of consumer advocates called Senior Health Insurance Benefit Assistance Program (SHIBA) at 800-722-4134 or at Shiba.oregon.gov.
 

Owner of an Oregon for-profit hospital is going nonprofit

At a time when nonprofit health systems are drawing scrutiny for outsourcing core services to for-profit chains, Quorum Health — the private equity-backed owner of McKenzie WIllamette Medical Center — is going the opposite direction and turning nonprofit.

The move is intended to help the financially challenged, Tennessee-based Quorum recover from an earlier bankruptcy, according to press accounts, and will be accompanied by a name change and merger with “Healthside Partners.”

Quorum, in an announcement, estimated that the change will lead to tax exemptions and other benefits worth roughly $24 million annually, including participation in the lucrative federal discount drug pricing program known as 340b.

Quorum maintains that the change, which is expected to be completed this fall, will not interrupt services or staffing. Quorum also said the move will involve more than $300 million in planned capital investments through 2029, including outpatient expansions, facility upgrades, and new technology.

In Oregon, Quorum-owned McKenzie-Willamette is one of only two for-profit hospitals in Oregon out of more than 60. The other, owned by Lifepoint Health, is Willamette Valley Medical Center, in McMinnville.

Last year, the board overseeing Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay backed out of a proposed sale to Quorum after employees and community members expressed concerns.