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Panel backs 5-year minimum and short extension for state Medicaid contracts to steady CCOs
Summary
Senators heard testimony supporting House Bill 2205 A, which would set a minimum five‑year contract term for Coordinated Care Organizations and permit Oregon Health Authority flexibility to extend contracts; OHA signaled intent to pause procurement and extend current contracts through 2028 if the bill passes.
The Senate Committee on Healthcare on May 8 considered House Bill 2205 A, which would require Coordinated Care Organization contracts administered by the Oregon Health Authority to be no shorter than five years and would allow OHA authority to extend contracts when appropriate.
Representative Rob Nosse, sponsor, told the committee Oregon’s CCO model covers the majority of Oregon Health Plan participants and that the procurement process is “the largest contracting process that the state engages in.” He said the bill reflects broad stakeholder work and seeks stability while preserving tools to advance policy.
Emma Sandow, Medicaid director at the Oregon Health Authority, testified in support and described the bill as a way to balance “accountability requirements and ensure the continued innovation of our health care system.” Sandow said current CCO contracts were originally five years and that OHA intends, if the bill passes, to extend current contracts through Dec. 31, 2028 and pause a planned request for applications scheduled for summer 2025.
CCO executives and industry groups uniformly supported the bill in testimony. Rick Blackwell of PacificSource Community Solutions said procurement is “an enormous resource draw and time intensive” and urged a pause until federal and program uncertainties settle. Anthony Montoya, director of public policy at HealthShare of Oregon, said longer-term contracts enable CCOs to make investments in behavioral health access and provider recruitment.
CareOregon’s Rachel Wiggins Emery, HealthShare’s Montoya and representatives of other large CCOs urged fast committee action. They and other witnesses cited the operational complexity of procurement and said using contract amendments, rules or guidance may be preferable to a full procurement when the federal environment is uncertain.
Committee members asked technical questions about how the contracts interact with federal waivers and program changes; OHA witnesses said the agency must continue to amend contracts to comply with state and federal law and that annual amendment authority remains in place.
No committee votes were taken during the hearing. OHA and CCO leaders asked the Legislature to give the agency authority and time to plan procurement as a strategic tool rather than to force a procurement in a period of programmatic uncertainty.
