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Model Application Template for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

Effective Date:

Approval Date: 65 policy-recommending body for health planning in the state. It consists of nine public members appointed by the Governor. The Health Council held a public hearing on Oregon's response to CHIP on October 18, 1997 in Salem, Oregon. At this meeting, approximately 30 interested parties, including consumers and consumer advocates, providers, managed care plans, insurance carriers, and educators, delivered testimony. Besides this focused, three-hour public hearing, the Health Council also solicited public comment at its regular meetings. At each of the six Council meetings held September 1997 through January 1998, written and oral public comment about CHIP was provided and discussed. On January 15, 1998, there were four additional public hearings around the state; Portland and Eugene in the Willamette Valley, Medford in Southern Oregon, and Bend in Central Oregon. Approximately 70 additional parties presented testimony at these hearings. There were comments on both general program policy issues and the proposed administrative rules for the Family Health Insurance Assistance Program (FHIAP). Program staff then summarized this public input and presented to a joint meeting of the Health Council and the Insurance Pool Governing Board that will oversee the operations of the FHIAP program. DMAP staff was also represented at this meeting, because Oregon is attempting to ensure consistent policies for the two complementary programs, the state-funded FHIAP commercial health insurance subsidy program and the CHIP program. Additional opportunities to receive public input around CHIP design and implementation have occurred and continue. A draft of the initial Title XXI State Plan document was circulated for comment internally to state agencies and externally to providers, consumer advocates, and to a broad array of other interested parties. When the original Title XXI State Plan was submitted to CMS, DMAP submitted a notice for publication in Oregon’s major newspapers. All interested Oregonians were notified on how to obtain a copy of this document and had timely opportunity to comment on CHIP

Oregon Health Decisions conducted a series of approximately 200 meetings around the state. "Health Decisions '98" continued ongoing efforts by Oregon Health Decisions to engage Oregonians at the grass- roots level in a democratic approach to developing health policy. A similar series of "town hall meetings" in 1990 informed the setting of health service priorities by the Health Services Commission, information upon which they developed the Prioritized List of Health Services. A subsequent set of focus groups in 1995 addressed questions designed to identify the most sensible "next steps" for the Oregon Health Plan following implementation of the Medicaid expansion with benefits based on those priorities. "Health Decisions '98" focused on issues of how we