Oregon Public Broadcasting

PORTLAND – An effort to overhaul the way Oregon delivers health care should create huge savings. That's according to a consultant's report issued Tuesday. But it would not be as much as expected in the short term.

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber is pushing for a so-called health-care "transformation." The idea is for local providers to work together to cut through bureaucratic red tape and to focus more on the individual needs of the patient.

Lawmakers approved an initial version of the plan last year and even built savings into the current budget. The state hired Indiana-based health care consultant Doug Elwell to see if those numbers would pan out.

"The challenge is getting that initial momentum," Elwell says. "But by 2019, yeah I think those are doable numbers."

In other words, by the end of the decade the state could be saving billions each year. But for now, Elwell expects the savings to fall short of lawmakers' projections.

Eric Parsons chairs the Oregon Health Policy Board, which is shaping the transformation process.

"We knew it would be difficult," Parsons says. "I think that's been reinforced for us."

Lawmakers are due back in Salem next month when they'll make changes to the current spending plan.

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

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