Oregon Health Forum

Last chance to register for tomorrow’s virtual panel discussion: tinyurl.com/mu63kvfe

Healthcare touches every Oregonian. This conversation needs all of us.
Learn about the Health System Sustainability Group’s recommendations to stabilize and improve Oregon’s healthcare system. Ask questions and give feedback on what you agree with, what needs work and what’s missing.

What happens next must be informed by the people who receive care, provide it and help make it possible.

📅 Sept 22 | 12:30 – 2 PM | Virtual

“Oregon’s healthcare crisis cannot be effectively addressed as long as individual stakeholders are operating in their respective silos. It will require engagement and compromise from everyone - payers, providers, consumers, business and labor.”

🔗Register now [tinyurl.com/mu63kvfe] to join Oregon Health Forum and The Foundation for Medical Excellence live on Zoom, hear and give feedback on the Health System Sustainability Group’s recommendations and help shape progress in the 2027 Legislature and beyond.

📅 Tuesday, Sept. 22
⏰ 12:30–2 p.m.
💻 Live on Zoom

Register Today – It’s Go Time: Forging a path forward – Zoom It’s Go Time: Forging a path forward – Zoom, Tue Sep 22, 2026 - Registration is open — Join us virtually, Tues, Sept 22 at 12:30 pm

Oregon can no longer afford to just admire the problem.

As rising healthcare costs and access challenges collide with major federal cuts, the Health System Sustainability Group—tasked by Gov. Tina Kotek and led by former Gov. John Kitzhaber—has proposed steps to lower costs while preserving quality and access.

The missing piece is you.

Join Oregon Health Forum and The Foundation for Medical Excellence Sept. 22 as we begin a public conversation. Hear about the proposals for primary care, behavioral health, care delivery and payment, labor and management, drug costs and more—then ask questions and weigh in.

The time is now for Oregonians across the state to lean in, learn and make the case for change.

This is the first of a series to shape action in the 2027 Legislature and beyond.

📅 Sept 22 | 12:30 – 2 PM | Virtual
🔗 Register Today: tinyurl.com/mu63kvfe
📄 Read the HSSG summary and report: tinyurl.com/26bssdfm

🚨 Oregon’s already-strained healthcare system is facing even bigger challenges with major federal cuts ahead. At this pivotal moment, Oregon needs input from the people who rely on, work in and help shape our healthcare system.

Proposals being considered now could help guide Oregon healthcare policy in the 2027 legislative session and beyond.

On Sept. 22, Oregon Health Forum and The Foundation for Medical Excellence are bringing people together for that conversation. Former Governor John Kitzhaber will present the Health System Sustainability Group’s proposed path forward, followed by perspectives spanning primary care, behavioral health, rural and frontier healthcare, Medicaid, coordinated care and health system transformation.

This conversation is one of many to come.

💬 Ask questions. Share your perspective. Weigh in as Oregon charts a path forward.

📅 Sept 22 | 12:30 – 2 PM | Virtual
🔗 Register Today: tinyurl.com/mu63kvfe
📄 Read the HSSG summary and report: tinyurl.com/26bssdfm

Oregon’s healthcare system and our larger economy are deeply connected.

“The stability of Oregon’s healthcare system, and the health of the larger economy, are inextricably linked, their fates intertwined. That means this crisis can only be solved by working together.”

— John Kitzhaber, M.D., Former Oregon Governor; Convener, Health System Sustainability Group

On Sept. 22, hear the recommendations for improving care while spending less. Bring your questions and perspectives — because working together starts with bringing more voices to the table.

📅 Sept 22 | 12:30 – 2 PM
🔗 Register Today: tinyurl.com/mu63kvfe
📄 Read the HSSG summary and report: tinyurl.com/26bssdfm

What would it take to improve care for Oregonians while spending less?
With costs soaring, access dwindling and major federal Medicaid cutbacks looming, Oregon healthcare leaders have proposed a system overhaul.

💬 Join former Governor John Kitzhaber and healthcare leaders live on Zoom to hear their recommendations, ask questions and weigh in on proposals that could help shape Oregon healthcare policy.

This forum kicks off a two-part series laying the groundwork for action in the 2027 state Legislature.

The recommendations come from the Health System Sustainability Group, tasked by Governor Tina Kotek and led by Dr. Kitzhaber to identify ways to lower healthcare costs without compromising quality or access.

📅 Sept 22 | 12:30 PM – 2 PM
🔗 Register Today: tinyurl.com/mu63kvfe
📄 Read the HSSG summary and report: tinyurl.com/26bssdfm

Our Aug. 12 panel posed the question: reform or replace the Oregon Health Plan’s coordinated care organizations?

“We asked the CCOs to do a lot…(Now) I think we want to focus the CCOs on what we think they can do best.” - John McConnell, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) health economist and Medicaid researcher

​“Providers are the lifeblood of the Medicaid delivery system… Administration is frankly hamstringing providers.” - Jamal Furqan, founder, Torchlight Consulting

“This time of crisis is forcing the conversations. We need to ask questions about what is making our population healthier.” - Jeremiah Rigsby, chief legal and public affairs officer, CareOregon

“This is the defining issue for the next six years. We need strong leadership to take action.” - John Kitzhaber, former Governor

Thank you to our panelists, moderator Nick Budnick and our excellent sponsors. Catch the summary in The Lund Report: https://bit.ly/4ghwx0F.

Don't miss this important conversation about the future of health care in Oregon.

This Wednesday, leading experts in Medicaid policy, health care, and the Oregon Health Plan will tackle the question: Reform or replace Oregon's coordinated care organizations (CCOs)?

Wednesday, August 12 from 8:30–10:00 am
☕ (Doors at 8:00 am, coffee and light breakfast served)
📍 University of Oregon Portland Campus
💻 Can't make it in person? Join the livestream.

With major Medicaid funding cuts on the horizon and new research raising questions about managed care nationally, this discussion comes at a critical moment: https://wp.me/p34Ikx-2mg.

Join the forum wherever you are—livestream available! August 12 from 8:30–10:00 am.

Escalating costs, diminishing access and looming Medicaid cuts are putting everything up for discussion, even the cornerstone of the Oregon Health Plan. Should the Oregon coordinated care organization (CCO) model be reformed, or is it time to consider a different approach?

Hear from key players on:
🔹 How Oregon’s CCO model has evolved
🔹 What new research says about Medicaid managed care nationally
🔹 What reforms or alternatives could lower costs and strengthen care for the 1.4 million Oregonians who rely on the Oregon Health Plan

Can't attend in person? Tune in via the livestream for just $15.

If you’re interested in the future of health care in Oregon, this is a conversation you won't want to miss: https://wp.me/p34Ikx-2mg.

home Oregon Health Forum is the educational arm of The Lund Report and provides opportunities for healthcare leaders to discuss pivotal issues and interact with their colleagues.

Deep looming cuts to Medicaid are sparking discussion about the cornerstone of the Oregon Health Plan: managed care. Do Oregon’s coordinated care organizations (CCOs) remain the best vehicle for providing health coverage to 1.4 million lower-income Oregonians? Framed by just-published research raising questions about Medicaid managed care outcomes nationally, the panel will discuss the evolution of the Oregon model, how it could be improved and what alternative approaches could look like.

In-person and via livestream: https://wp.me/p34Ikx-2mg.

August 12, 2026 | Oregon’s CCO’s at a Crossroads: Reform or Replace? – OREGON HEALTH FORUM August 12, 2026 | Oregon’s CCO’s at a Crossroads: Reform or Replace? Deep looming cuts to Medicaid are sparking discussion about the cornerstone of the Oregon Health Plan: managed care. The state’s system of insurer-like regional contractors that oversee care – the coordinated care organizat...