Oregon health board appointees want to appoint own colleagues

(The Center Square) Gov. Kate Brown plans to shoot down a bill that would have reined in her appointees’ authority to appoint their own advisory bodies.

Senate Bill 721 was written to amend the member appointment process for the Consumer Advisory Council advising the director of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) on mental health and substance abuse services. It would allow its existing members to handpick their peers contrary to current policies. The bill, requested by the Oregon Department of Human Services, was greenlit by state lawmakers in June with unanimous support.

Advocates for the legislation believed it would allow Oregon’s Consumer Advisory Council (OCAC) to refine OHA Behavioral Health policies in a peer-driven process led by people with relevant experience.

The OCAC stems from legislation passed in 2019 and saw its 15 to 25 members appointed by the OHA director or a designee. Applications for board membership include a rubric system to gauge qualifications critics have called superfluous and detrimental to policy reform.

Michael J. Hlebechuk, a former director of the OCAC, told state lawmakers earlier this year the OHA needs different eyes and ears at the table.

“In effect, OCAC cannot inform the Division because the Division itself does not seek true peer input into service delivery and policy,” Hlebechuk said. “I strongly believe that a peer informed decision-making process is vital for the Behavioral Health Division to achieve its mission and I strongly endorse SB 721A to remove the unintended handcuffs from OCAC.”

Oregon’s mental health services have been underfunded and mismanaged across the board for years, a 2020 audit from the Secretary of State’s office concluded.

By the OHA’s projections, behavioral health services in the 2019-21 budget cycle will cost the state up to $3.2 billion or about 14% of its $23.1 billion budget. The audit found the public health agency failed to outline specific goals for behavioral health with clear metrics and outcomes, releasing plans characterized with vague slogans like “Better Health.”

“Existing data systems do not include critical information and contain unusable and incomplete data,” the audit states.

Counseling services in Oregon also include significant gaps in racial diversity. Oregon lawmakers passed a bill this summer intended to close those gaps, HB 2949. It forgives up to $15,000 in student loan debt for qualified counselor candidates and pumps $80 million into expanding OHA’s mental health programs and services. The bill has not received Brown’s signature.

In her veto statement, Brown argued SB 721 would place Oregon in conflict with federal Medicaid law, which requires a single state Medicaid agency and bans the Oregon Health Authority from exercising its authority over Medicaid policies. She said the bill as written would be left unsigned with a possible veto in the pipeline.

“I understand that supporters of SB 721 intend to resubmit a similar bill in the future with a modification to avoid the federal law conflict,” Brown said. “I look forward to those efforts, and I applaud their work to center the consumer voice in improving the delivery of behavioral health care here in Oregon.”

According to the Oregon Constitution, Brown is duty-bound to provide five days’ notice before vetoing a bill after the legislature adjourns. She has until Friday to take action.

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