ORS 413.017: Public Health Benefit Purchasers Committee, Health Care Workforce Committee, Health Plan Quality Metrics Committee and Behavioral Health Committee; rules.

(1) The Oregon Health Policy Board shall establish the committees described in subsections (2) to (5) of this section. (2)(a) The Public Health Benefit Purchasers Committee shall include individuals who purchase health care for the following: (A) The Public Employees’ Benefit Board. (B) The Oregon Educators Benefit Board. (C) Trustees of the Public Employees Retirement System. (D) A city government. (E) A county government. (F) A special district. (G) Any private nonprofit organization that receives the majority of its funding from the state and requests to participate on the committee. (b) The Public Health Benefit Purchasers Committee shall: (A) Identify and make specific recommendations to achieve uniformity across all public health benefit plan designs based on the best available clinical evidence, recognized best practices for health promotion and disease management, demonstrated cost-effectiveness and shared demographics among the enrollees within the pools covered by the benefit plans. (B) Develop an action plan for ongoing collaboration to implement the benefit design alignment described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and shall leverage purchasing to achieve benefit uniformity if practicable. (C) Continuously review and report to the Oregon Health Policy Board on the committee’s progress in aligning benefits while minimizing the cost shift to individual purchasers of insurance without shifting costs to the private sector or the health insurance exchange. (c) The Oregon Health Policy Board shall work with the Public Health Benefit Purchasers Committee to identify uniform provisions for state and local public contracts for health benefit plans that achieve maximum quality and cost outcomes. The board shall collaborate with the committee to develop steps to implement joint contract provisions. The committee shall identify a schedule for the implementation of contract changes. The process for implementation of joint contract provisions must include a review process to protect against unintended cost shifts to enrollees or agencies. (3)(a) The Health Care Workforce Committee shall include individuals who have the collective expertise, knowledge and experience in a broad range of health professions, health care education and health care workforce development initiatives. (b) The Health Care Workforce Committee shall coordinate efforts to recruit and educate health care professionals and retain a quality workforce to meet the demand that will be created by the expansion in health care coverage, system transformations and an increasingly diverse population. (c) The Health Care Workforce Committee shall conduct an inventory of all grants and other state resources available for addressing the need to expand the health care workforce to meet the needs of Oregonians for health care. (4)(a) The Health Plan Quality Metrics Committee shall include the following members appointed by the Oregon Health Policy Board: (A) An individual representing the Oregon Health Authority; (B) An individual representing the Oregon Educators Benefit Board; (C) An individual representing the Public Employees’ Benefit Board; (D) An individual representing the Department of Consumer and Business Services; (E) Two health care providers; (F) One individual representing hospitals; (G) One individual representing insurers, large employers or multiple employer welfare arrangements; (H) Two individuals representing health care consumers; (I) Two individuals representing coordinated care organizations; (J) One individual with expertise in health care research; (K) One individual with expertise in health care quality measures; and (L) One individual with expertise in mental health and addiction services. (b) The committee shall work collaboratively with the Oregon Educators Benefit Board, the Public Employees’ Benefit Board, the authority and the department to adopt health outcome and quality measures that are focused on specific goals and provide value to the state, employers, insurers, health care providers and consumers. The committee shall be the single body to align health outcome and quality measures used in this state with the requirements of health care data reporting to ensure that the measures and requirements are coordinated, evidence-based and focused on a long term statewide vision. (c) The committee shall use a public process that includes an opportunity for public comment to identify health outcome and quality measures. The health outcome and quality measures identified by the committee, as updated by the authority under paragraph (g) of this subsection, may be applied to services provided by coordinated care organizations or paid for by health benefit plans sold through the health insurance exchange or offered by the Oregon Educators Benefit Board or the Public Employees’ Benefit Board. The authority, the department, the Oregon Educators Benefit Board and the Public Employees’ Benefit Board are not required to adopt all of the health outcome and quality measures identified by the committee but may not adopt any health outcome and quality measures that are different from the measures identified by the committee. The measures must take into account the health outcome and quality measures selected by the metrics and scoring subcommittee created in ORS 413.022 and the differences in the populations served by coordinated care organizations and by commercial insurers. (d) In identifying health outcome and quality measures, the committee shall prioritize measures that: (A) Utilize existing state and national health outcome and quality measures, including measures adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that have been adopted or endorsed by other state or national organizations and have a relevant state or national benchmark; (B) Given the context in which each measure is applied, are not prone to random variations based on the size of the denominator; (C) Utilize existing data systems, to the extent practicable, for reporting the measures to minimize redundant reporting and undue burden on the state, health benefit plans and health care providers; (D) Can be meaningfully adopted for a minimum of three years; (E) Use a common format in the collection of the data and facilitate the public reporting of the data; and (F) Can be reported in a timely manner and without significant delay so that the most current and actionable data is available. (e) The committee shall evaluate on a regular and ongoing basis the health outcome and quality measures identified under this section. (f) The committee may convene subcommittees to focus on gaining expertise in particular areas such as data collection, health care research and mental health and substance use disorders in order to aid the committee in the development of health outcome and quality measures. A subcommittee may include stakeholders and staff from the authority, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Consumer and Business Services, the Early Learning Council or any other agency staff with the appropriate expertise in the issues addressed by the subcommittee. (g) The authority shall update annually, if necessary, the health outcome and quality measures identified by the committee to utilize the latest sets of core quality measures published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1320b-9a and 1320b-9b. (h) This subsection does not prevent the authority, the Department of Consumer and Business Services, commercial insurers, the Public Employees’ Benefit Board or the Oregon Educators Benefit Board from establishing programs that provide financial incentives to providers for meeting specific health outcome and quality measures adopted by the committee. (5)(a) The Behavioral Health Committee shall include the following members appointed by the Director of the Oregon Health Authority: (A) The chairperson of the Health Plan Quality Metrics Committee; (B) The chairperson of the committee appointed by the board to address health equity, if any; (C) A behavioral health director for a coordinated care organization; (D) A representative of a community mental health program; (E) An individual with expertise in data analysis; (F) A member of the Consumer Advisory Council, established under ORS 430.073, that represents adults with mental illness; (G) A representative of the System of Care Advisory Council established in ORS 418.978; (H) A member of the Oversight and Accountability Council, established under ORS 430.388, who represents adults with addictions or co-occurring conditions; (I) One member representing a system of care, as defined in ORS 418.976; (J) One consumer representative; (K) One representative of a tribal government; (L) One representative of an organization that advocates on behalf of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities; (M) One representative of providers of behavioral health services; (N) The director of the division of the authority responsible for behavioral health services, as a nonvoting member; (O) The Director of the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission appointed under ORS 430.220, as a nonvoting member; (P) The authority’s Medicaid director, as a nonvoting member; (Q) A representative of the Department of Human Services, as a nonvoting member; and (R) Any other member that the director deems appropriate. (b) The board may modify the membership of the committee as needed. (c) The division of the authority responsible for behavioral health services and the director of the division shall staff the committee. (d) The committee, in collaboration with the Health Plan Quality Metrics Committee, as needed, shall: (A) Establish quality metrics for behavioral health services provided by coordinated care organizations, health care providers, counties and other government entities; and (B) Establish incentives to improve the quality of behavioral health services. (e) The quality metrics and incentives shall be designed to: (A) Improve timely access to behavioral health care; (B) Reduce hospitalizations; (C) Reduce overdoses; (D) Improve the integration of physical and behavioral health care; and (E) Ensure individuals are supported in the least restrictive environment that meets their behavioral health needs. (6) Members of the committees described in subsections (2) to (5) of this section who are not members of the Oregon Health Policy Board may receive compensation in accordance with criteria prescribed by the authority by rule and shall be reimbursed from funds available to the board for actual and necessary travel and other expenses incurred by them by their attendance at committee meetings, in the manner and amount provided in ORS 292.495. [2009 c.595 §7; 2015 c.3 §43; 2015 c.389 §2; 2019 c.3 §1; 2021 c.667 §16; 2023 c.584 §16; 2025 c.292 §6]