Senate Bill (SB) 754-A, “Tobacco 21,” moved out of the House Health Care Committee on Wednesday, May 10. A number of amendments were introduced in the House, and the bill was scheduled for a work session and carried over three times, causing some concern among advocates. Fortunately, a clean bill came out of the committee and the bill should be up for a vote on the House Floor the week of May 15. AOC supports SB 754. If you have not already done so, please contact your legislators to reinforce our position.

House Bill (HB) 2122-A was perhaps one of the most contentious bills of the past week. This is the “CCO 2.0” bill regarding the future structure of coordinated care organizations. On May 11 the bill had a second public hearing in the House Rules Committee, followed by a work session where the committee adopted the -24 amendments and moved the bill to the floor. Prior to the hearing this week, the majority of CCOs vocally opposed the bill. With the -24 amendments, CCOs are now split across opposition, neutrality and support positions. Key changes in the -24 amendments are:

  • CCOs will be required to spend down only a portion of their annual net income or reserves on social determinants of health
  • CCOs will need to make publicly available written minutes of their meetings and contact information for the chair of the governing body, as well as either one member of the community advisory council or a designated employee of the CCO
  • By January 2023, CCOs will need to be either a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, or a public benefit corporation
  • By December 2023, CCOs will need to meet benchmarks established by the Oregon Health Authority for the use of alternative payment methodologies to reimburse providers (the authority will work with CCOs to develop plans for this transition)

HB 2056 as introduced would have raised the tobacco tax and included e-cigarettes in such taxation. There was a hearing on May 11 on a -2 amendment that would gut-and-stuff the bill to simply remove the preemption on local tobacco taxes. AOC testified in support of the -2 amendment along with staff from Multnomah and Lane Counties as well as the League of Oregon Cities, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society. Opposition came from both general retailers and smoke/cigar shops specifically. It is unclear if the bill will be scheduled for a work session.

Contributed by: Stacy Michaelson | AOC Health & Human Services Policy Manager