Health Share of Oregon to fold in Portland area FamilyCare members

January 3, 2018

As health insurer FamilyCare prepares to close its doors at the end of January, the Oregon Health Authority has begun transferring members in the Portland metro area to another coordinated care organization, Health Share of Oregon.

“Our top priority is continuity and access to care,” the OHA has assured residents. “You will not lose your health care.”

Beginning Feb. 1, Health Share will coordinate care for all Oregon Health Plan members living in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Health Share consists of four insurance plans: Kaiser Permanente, Providence, Care Oregon and Tuality Health Alliance.

Most primary care and mental health providers who contracted with FamilyCare also serve Health Share’s clients, and Health Share is working to keep FamilyCare members with their assigned primary care providers. So current FamilyCare members should keep previously scheduled health care appointments, even if they are scheduled after January 31.

OHA recommends that all FamilyCare members remain enrolled in FamilyCare until OHA transitions them to Health Share. Once this happens, OHA will work with their current providers to coordinate care and prior authorizations.

FamilyCare clients will always be welcome at Multnomah County Health Department clinics, said Vanetta Abdellatif, co-director of the Health Department and director of Integrated Clinical Services. “Please come and see your provider,” she said. “We’re still here for you.”  

The county’s clinical services include 12 student health centers, eight primary care clinics, seven pharmacies, six dental sites, and an HIV clinic. The clinics serve more than 70,000 residents each year — 75 percent of whom live under the poverty line, 62 percent of whom are people of color, and 44 percent of whom speak a language other than English at home. County programs do not turn anyone away for an inability to pay for a clinic visit, prescription or other service.

Multnomah County’s Mental Health and Addiction Services Division is also ramping up to help transition FamilyCare members receiving mental health or addictions treatment, so they stay with their current providers and get answers about continuity of care.

"We’re committed to promoting and supporting the behavioral health of everyone in Multnomah County," said Mental Health and Addiction Services Division Director David Hidalgo. "We are prepared to ensure all new and existing Health Share members continue to have access to critical mental health and substance use services that support recovery."

 

For more information

Residents who speak a language other than English can call helplines for Health Share, Multnomah County or the Oregon Health Authority and request an interpreter. Language services are always free.

Call Oregon Health Plan Client Services: 800-273-0557.

Attend an information session: 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8 at the Oregon City Public Library (request interpreters in advance).

Visit or call Health Share’s New Member Welcome Center or call 833-278-4215.

Read the Heath Share member handbook in six of the region's most-spoken languages.

Schedule an appointment at a Multnomah County clinic by calling 503-988-5558.

Find local mental health and addiction services by calling 503-988-4888.

Check out the Oregon Health Authority updates on the transition.