Draft:CareOregon

Working largely with federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), including county health departments, migrant health clinics and other entities,{{cite web |date=2020 |title=Safety Net Clinics in Oregon: Federally Qualified Health Centers. |url=https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/HP-PCO/Documents/FQHCs.pdf |website=Oregon Health Authority |publisher=Oregon.gov}} CareOregon emphasizes primary and preventive care for its child and adult members. It is certified by the state Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP).{{cite web |title=Charitable Organizations Registered in Oregon |url=https://justice.oregon.gov/charities |website=Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities |date=2022}}

As of 2020 and the Oregon Health Authority’s revised 5-year Medicaid contracts, CareOregon also manages behavioral health (previously handled by county health departments), oral health, and non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefits for Health Share of Oregon clients in the Portland tri-county area.{{cite web |last1=Terry |first1=Lynne |title=In Portland Area Medicaid Market, CareOregon Gains Power Behind The Scenes |url=https://www.thelundreport.org/content/portland-area-medicaid-market-careoregon-gains-power-behind-scenes |website=The Lund Report |date=June 12, 2019}}

== Members ==

As of January 2024, CareOregon administered various managed health care services and broader support to more than 500,000 Oregonians{{cite web |title=CareOregon Annual Report 2022 |url=https://careoregon.org/about-us/annual-reports/annual-report-2022#main-section-5 |website=CareOregon}} in locally focused coordinated care organizations and its Medicare Advantage plan.

Statewide, enrollment in Oregon Health Plan as of December 2023 was more than 1.5 million,{{cite web |title=Medicaid Monthly Population Report for Oregon |url=https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiMTRhMmNhZDktYzY4OS00MzIxLTg4NTAtNjc4NmVlNjA1NzI4IiwidCI6IjY1OGU2M2U4LThkMzktNDk5Yy04ZjQ4LTEzYWRjOTQ1MmY0YyJ9&pageName=ReportSection98726d2ddac33b27095f |website=Oregon Health Authority |page=1 |date=2024}} meaning CareOregon and its subsidiaries serve roughly one third of Oregon Health Plan clients in some combination of medical, dental and behavioral health care, or non-emergency medical transportation services.

The nonprofit group health plan was founded “in 1993 by three safety-net providers – Multnomah County Health Department, the Oregon Primary Care Association, and [then-] Oregon Health Sciences University – shortly before Oregon received a Medicaid waiver that enabled the state to expand the number of low-income residents it covered.”{{cite web |last1=Klein |first1=Sarah |last2=McCarthy |first2=Douglas |title=CareOregon: Transforming the Role of a Medicaid Health Plan from Payer to Partner |url=https://www.issuelab.org/resources/8574/8574.pdf |website=Issues Research, Inc. |publisher=The Commonwealth fund |page=3 |date=July 2010}} After months of planning, CareOregon began operations with 10,000 clients on Feb. 1, 1994, the same day the Medicaid portion of the Oregon Health Plan enrolled its first Medicaid members.{{cite web |title=CareOregon: The Early Years |url=https://careoregon.org/docs/default-source/aboutus/co-the-early-years.pdf |website=CareOregon}}

The timing was intentional. CareOregon was formed with the stated purpose of being a committed, stabilizing force for the Oregon Health Plan, an experiment in health care reform. From its start, CareOregon viewed “managed care” unconventionally, focusing on managing its complex members to improved health, while also functioning as a payor.

Its April 1994 vision statement, included in “CareOregon: The Early Years” (n.d.) held that “CareOregon collaborators are committed to building a health plan that is grounded in the community, is responsive to culturally diverse populations and is a model for facilitating health care for all Oregon residents. . .On April 1, 1997, CareOregon, Inc. spun off from Multnomah County and became a fully independent non-profit organization.”

CareOregon’s origins in county public health oriented the company to recognizing and responding to socioeconomic influences on health. As noted in its 2021 financial report, “CareOregon’s mission is to inspire and partner to create quality and equity in individual and community health. CareOregon’s vision is healthy communities for all individuals, regardless of income or social circumstances.”

In 2010-2012 – after the U.S. Congress expanded Medicaid eligibility as part of the Affordable Care Act, and the Oregon Legislature approved a shift to coordinated care organizations – CareOregon helped form and administer five of the state’s 15 original CCOs.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Kirk |title=Experiment in Oregon Gives Medicaid Very Local Roots |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/us/oregon-experiments-with-localized-medicaid.html |work=New York Times |date=2013}} (Varying sources put the initial number of CCOs at 15 and 16.) The move by Oregon was seen as “a significant transformation of its Medicaid program.”{{Cite journal |last1=John McConnell |first1=K. |last2=Marie Chang |first2=Anna |last3=Cohen |first3=Deborah J. |last4=Wallace |first4=Neal |last5=Chernew |first5=Michael E. |last6=Kautz |first6=Glenn |last7=McCarty |first7=Dennis |last8=McFarland |first8=Bentson |last9=Wright |first9=Bill |last10=Smith |first10=Jeanene |date=2014 |title=Oregon's Medicaid transformation: An innovative approach to holding a health system accountable for spending growth |journal=Healthcare |language=en |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=163–167 |doi=10.1016/j.hjdsi.2013.11.002 |pmc=4273859 |pmid=25540719}}

Coordinated care organizations’ emphasis on primary and preventive care mirrors much of CareOregon’s longtime approach. In 2006, at a U.S. Senate roundtable before the Special Committee on Aging, then-CareOregon President & CEO David Ford stated, “It is not the care that people receive that is driving the cost of health care; it is the care that they don’t receive.”{{cite book |title=Securing Medicaid's Future: Spotlight on Managed Care, Roundtable Before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress Second Session |date=2007 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=63}}

==Lines of business==

CareOregon refers to itself as “the CareOregon family” and is the umbrella entity for several lines of business.{{cite web |title=CareOregon Annual Report 2017 Strengthening our communities by making health care work for everyone |url=https://www.careoregon.org/docs/default-source/aboutus/annual-reports/careoregon-annual-report-2017.pdf |website=CareOregon |page=5}}

The parent wholly or partially operates three of the Oregon Health Plan’s 16 coordinated care organizations, spanning seven of Oregon’s 36 counties: Columbia Pacific CCO, Jackson Care Connect and Health Share of Oregon. CareOregon formed them in spring 2012, the year that Oregon rolled out CCOs as a new approach to Medicaid.

CareOregon was a founding partner and funder of Health Share, a nonprofit coordinated care organization{{cite web |title=Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax 2022 |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/455093195/202323139349301467/full |website=Nonprofit Explorer |date=9 May 2013 |publisher=ProPublica}} that is a partnership of 11 health and social service organizations, including CareOregon. Health Share covers three counties in the Portland area.{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.healthshareoregon.org/about |website=Health Share of Oregon}} Of its five health care partners, CareOregon “operates the largest plan under Health Share of Oregon,” the Portland Business Journal wrote in 2019.{{cite web |last1=Hayes |first1=Elizabeth |title=Two Oregon health care giants to join forces in Medicaid |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2019/08/20/two-oregon-health-care-giants-to-join-forces-in.html |website=Portland Business Journal |date=2019}} CareOregon differentiates its work within Health Share as “CareOregon Metro.”{{cite web |last1=Weedman |first1=Jonathan |last2=Kapka, MD |first2=Tonya |title=Using Electronic Tools for Improved Care Coordination & Network Support |url=https://ccooregon.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/eConsult_CareOregon-1.pdf}}

Additional lines of business are CareOregon Dental, which offers dental care to Oregon Health Plan clients in four counties{{cite web |title=Welcome to CareOregon Dental |url=https://www.careoregondental.org/about-us |website=CareOregon Dental}} (the Oregon Health Authority required coordinated care organizations to offer dental benefits beginning in 2014); Housecall Providers, a home-based hospice, palliative care and primary care service in the Portland area and CareOregon subsidiary since 2017; and Tribal care coordination for self-identified American Indians and Alaska Natives who are covered by the Oregon Health Plan on a fee-for-service basis.

In 2005, CareOregon formed Health Plan of CareOregon, Inc, which began operations Jan. 1, 2006 as a Special Needs Medicare Advantage Drug Plan (MA-PD plan). It is a nonprofit public benefit corporation. As CareOregon Advantage, it mainly enrolls members who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare.{{cite web |title=Health Plan of CareOregon, Inc. Statutory Basis Financial Statements with Supplementary Information |url=https://dfr.oregon.gov/business/reg/insurer/mergers/Documents/careoregon-scangroup/careoregon-scangroup-exhibit-E1.pdf |publisher=KPMG |page=7}} Until Dec. 31, 2018, CareOregon also offered a commercial Medicare Advantage plan.

State and federal monies fund the Oregon Health Plan. The Oregon Health Authority contracts with coordinated care organizations, paying them a per-member-per-month amount, to coordinate health care for enrollees in the Oregon Health Plan.

CareOregon is a fully capitated health plan. In exchange for the monthly per-member fee, CareOregon holds the full financial risk for its members’ actual health care expenses.

In 2022, the latest publicly posted audited financial report, the company’s total revenues were $2.36 billion. Total operating expenses were $2.28 billion.{{cite web |title=CareOregon, Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Financial Statements |url=https://www.oregon.gov/oha/FOD/CCOFinancial/CareOregon_Audited_Financial_Statements_2022_2.pdf |publisher=KPMG |page=5 |date=2023}}

CareOregon, Columbia Pacific CCO and Jackson Care Connect officers are overseen by a largely local board of directors.{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=https://careoregon.org/about-us/who-we-are/board-of-directors |website=CareOregon}}{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=https://colpachealth.org/about-us/board-of-directors |website=Columbia Pacific CCO}}{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=https://jacksoncareconnect.org/about-us/board-of-directors |website=Jackson Care Connect}} Directors are not compensated.{{cite web |title=Form CT-12 for Oregon Charities |url=https://justice.oregon.gov/Charities/Charity/GetCharityReport?rptId=221456502 |page=9 |date=2019}} Member advisory boards or councils provide input to each coordinated care organization.{{cite web |title=Community Advisory Council |url=https://colpachealth.org/about-us/community-advisory-council |website=Columbia Pacific CCO}}{{cite web |title=Community Advisory Council |url=https://jacksoncareconnect.org/about-us/community-advisory-council |website=Jackson Care Connect}}{{cite web |title=Community Advisory Board (COCAB) |url=https://careoregon.org/members/get-involved-with-careoregon/community-advisory-board |website=CareOregon}} In addition, Jackson Care Connect has a Youth Advisory Council.{{cite web |title=Youth Advisory Council |url=https://jacksoncareconnect.org/about-us/youth-advisory-council |website=Jackson Care Connect}}

==Leadership==

2016-present: Eric C. Hunter, President and CEO{{cite web |last1=Contreras |first1=Briana |title=Meet the Board: Eric Hunter of CareOregon Discusses Medicaid in Oregon and What Managed Care Has Become Over Time |url=https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/meet-the-board-eric-hunter-of-careoregon-discusses-medicaid-in-oregon-and-what-managed-care-has-become-over-time |website=Managed Healthcare Executive|date=3 November 2021 }}

2016: Scott Clement, CEO (interim)

2012-2016: Patrick Curran, CEO

2003-2012: David Ford, CEO

1994-2003: Mary Lou Hennrich, Executive Director

In 2005, CareOregon began moving its staff into a building it purchased at 315 SW Fifth Ave. in downtown Portland. The company also rents offices in the Oregon cities of Seaside and Medford. In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CareOregon shifted temporarily to a largely remote workforce.

The fledgling CareOregon set up its first office in November 1993, in Portland’s Crown Plaza building, in space lent to the organization by then-Oregon Health Sciences University. In 1995, CareOregon relocated to the Commerce Building (now Broadway Commons) and, in 1999, to 522 S.W. Fifth Ave. before moving to its current headquarters.

In 2003, CareOregon was on the edge of bankruptcy, “prompted in part by declining state reimbursements (that), ‘forced us to confront who are we and what is our core value in the world,’ said David Labby, M.D., Ph.D., CareOregon’s [then] medical director.”

The situation led to layoffs, new leadership, a reorganization, and efforts to improve quality, performance and population health as both a business and health strategy. These efforts included the CareSupport and Primary Care Renewal programs.

In 2015-2018, CareOregon experienced losses that its executives expected to exceed $96 million by the end of 2018. The company was stabilized by its large reserves and revised state contracts.{{cite web |last1=Manning |first1=Jeff |title=CareOregon, major Medicaid player, approaches $100 million in losses |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2018/08/post_267.html |website=The Oregonian |date=2018}}

Also in 2018, CareOregon Metro assumed care for about 80,000 of the 100,000 clients of Family Care, a coordinated care organization that closed its Medicaid plan Dec. 31, 2017.{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Patrick |title=An open letter to the Portland-area health care community from Director Patrick Allen |url=https://stateofreform.com/uncategorized/2018/01/four-implications-familycares-closing |publisher=Oregon Health Authority |date=2017}}

The 80,000 new members represented a 40 percent expansion of CareOregon’s enrollment in less than six weeks.{{cite web |title=Annual Report 2018 |url=https://careoregon.org/docs/default-source/aboutus/annual-reports/cor-ar2018.pdf |website=CareOregon |page=7}}

In August 2019, CareOregon announced its intention to affiliate with Providence Plan Partners, a subsidiary of Providence St. Joseph Health and fellow founding member of the Health Share coordinated care organization.{{cite web |last1=Hayes |first1=Elizabeth |title=Two Oregon health care giants to join forces in Medicaid |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2019/08/20/two-oregon-health-care-giants-to-join-forces-in.html |website=Portland Business Journal |date=2019}}

In early 2020, the CareOregon president and CEO wrote in an op-ed that in joining Providence, CareOregon would retain its secular and nonprofit status and strengthen its long-term financial position, given “a shifting funding landscape and increased community needs on the horizon.”{{cite web |last1=Hunter |first1=Eric |title=Opinion: CareOregon is innovating to meet Oregon's evolving health-care needs |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2020/02/opinion-careoregon-is-innovating-to-meet-oregons-evolving-health-care-needs.html |website=The Oregonian |date=2020}}

A weekly alternative newspaper, Willamette Week, reported immediate criticisms of the plan.{{cite web |last1=Jaquiss |first1=Nigel |title=The Merger of Two Health Giants Raises Questions About Access to Reproductive Health Services |url=https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/09/04/the-merger-of-two-health-giants-raises-questions-about-access-to-reproductive-health-services/ |website=Willamette Week |date=2019}}

In spring 2020, four federal elected officials, nonprofit leaders and others expressed concerns to CareOregon leaders that its coverage of certain reproductive health and gender-identity services, and medical aid in dying, would, in time, change under a Catholic institution.{{cite web |last1=Merkley |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Wyden |first2=Ron |last3=Bonamici |first3=Suzanne |last4=Blumenauer |first4=Earl |title=Congress of the United States letterhead |url=https://www.merkley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/CareOregon%20and%20Providence%20Affiliation%20Letter.pdf}}{{cite web |title=Joint Statement Issued by ACLU of Oregon, Basic Rights Oregon, Compassion & Choices, Forward Together, NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon and SEIU Local 49 |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-wordpress-client-uploads/wweek/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/15131523/Partner-Statement-FINAL.docx.pdf |date=2020}}

By mid-May 2020, CareOregon and Providence Plan Partners had ended their discussions to affiliate.{{cite web |last1=Terry |first1=Lynne |title=Merger Of CareOregon Into Providence Off Over CareOregon's Independence, Secular Status |url=https://www.thelundreport.org/content/merger-careoregon-providence-over-careoregons-independence-secular-status?check_logged_in=1 |website=The Lund Report}}

CareOregon has a longstanding reputation as a national leader in innovation in health care for the Medicaid population.{{Cite journal |last1=Meenan |first1=R. |last2=Mosen |first2=D. |last3=Luke |first3=S. |last4=Perrin |first4=N. |date=2012-08-01 |title=CA8-03: Evaluating Primary Care Renewal in Oregon's Safety Net Clinics: Preliminary Quantitative Findings from CareOregon's Adult Medicaid Population |journal=Clinical Medicine & Research |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=176–177 |doi=10.3121/cmr.2012.1100.ca8-03 |issn=1539-4182 |pmc=3421418}} Its efforts in the 2020s increasingly moved to address issues such as social needs, access to care, housing and behavioral health.

In 2020, the Center for Health Strategies noted that CareOregon “supports its provider network by funding individuals who operate in a [community health worker] capacity to contribute additional care coordination services.”{{Cite web |last=Canonico |first=Michael |date=2020-02-13 |title=Supporting the Non-Traditional Health Care Workforce: Community Health Workers and Promotores - CHCS Blog |url=https://www.chcs.org/supporting-the-non-traditional-health-care-workforce-community-health-workers-and-promotores/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Center for Health Care Strategies |language=en-US}}

Such workers can include peers, community health workers and doulas and are a path for improving health equity and social determinants of health.{{Cite web |title=Dave Fife on LinkedIn: CareOregon's Traditional Health Workers Grant Program {{!}} 10 comments |url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dave-fife_careoregons-traditional-health-workers-grant-activity-7126288241539907584-6A9Z |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.linkedin.com |language=en}} CareOregon expanded its support of traditional health workers with $455,000 in grants to eight community-based organizations that provide culturally specific care.{{Cite web |title=Health Workers with Lived Experience Help Close Gaps in OR |url=https://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/73595-1 |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.publicnewsservice.org}}

In 2021, to address shortages in the behavioral health workforce, CareOregon awarded $7.5 million to boost hiring at 25 organizations that provide mental health and addiction treatment to low-income residents.{{Cite web |title=CareOregon Donates $7.5 Million For Mental Health, Addiction {{!}} The Lund Report |url=https://www.thelundreport.org/content/careoregon-donates-75-million-mental-health-addiction |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.thelundreport.org}}

In early 2023, to meet the dual needs for housing for health care workers and supportive housing for members, CareOregon acquired the Red Lion Inn & Suites in its coastal Columbia Pacific region to convert it to apartments.{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Victoria |date=2023 |title=CareOregon Initiative Boosts Access to Housing for Community Members. Healthpayer Intelligence |url=https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/careoregon-initiative-boosts-access-to-housing-for-community-members}}

The Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) was a major influence in CareOregon’s drive to innovate. CareOregon was among the first 15 sites nationally to work with the institute, starting in 2007, to develop ways of delivering care that met the so-called Triple Aim of improving population health, enhancing patients’ experience of care and controlling costs. (The Triple Aim has since been expanded to include clinician well-being and health equity.)

Those early care delivery strategies – including patient-centered medical homes and multidisciplinary case management for members with complex health needs – have endured.

When Oregon adopted coordinated care organizations, CareOregon increased its attention on non-medical factors that affect health, known as social determinants of health.{{Cite web |last=Tegethoff |first=Eric |date=2021 |title=Health Workers with Lived Experience Help Close Gaps in OR |url=https://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/73595-1 |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Public News Service}} One social determinant, housing insecurity, became a particular focus, most notably with the Housing is Health initiative.

In 2016, CareOregon gave $4 million of a combined $21.5 million donation, joining five Portland hospitals to help fund three housing projects, including one with onsite treatment for mental illness and substance use disorder.{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Elizabeth |date=2016 |title=6 Portland health organizations pledge $21.5M for 3 low-income housing projects |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/health-care-inc/2016/09/6-portland-health-organizations-pledge-21-5m-for-3.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Portland Business Journal}} The move was “hailed by national housing advocates as the largest private investment of its kind in the nation,” wrote the Associated Press.{{Cite web |last=Flaccus |first=Gillian |date=2016-09-23 |title=6 Portland health providers give $21.5M for homeless housing |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-f4c66b4b23f347e6b1e118b1b3fd8d1c |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=AP News |language=en}}

CareOregon has also tried various strategies to take health care outside of typical clinical settings, such as offering nutritious foods to eligible members,{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Food Supports Partnerships: Adelante Mujeres, Zenger Farm, Project Access NOW, & CareOregon. CareOregon. |url=http://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/dsi-tc/Documents/HRS-convening-CareOregon.pdf |website=oregon.gov}}{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Elizabeth |date=2014 |title=Prescription veggies? CareOregon pilot program helps patients eat healthier food |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/health-care-inc/2014/05/prescription-veggies-careoregon-pilot-program.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Portland Business Journal}} a screening study in which colorectal cancer screening kits were mailed to Medicaid and Medicare members’ homes,{{Cite journal |last1=Coronado |first1=Gloria D. |last2=Green |first2=Beverly B. |last3=West |first3=Imara I. |last4=Schwartz |first4=Malaika R. |last5=Coury |first5=Jennifer K. |last6=Vollmer |first6=William M. |last7=Shapiro |first7=Jean A. |last8=Petrik |first8=Amanda F. |last9=Baldwin |first9=Laura-Mae |date=2019-10-28 |title=Direct-to-member mailed colorectal cancer screening outreach for Medicaid and Medicare enrollees: Implementation and effectiveness outcomes from the BeneFIT study |journal=American Cancer Society |language=en |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=540–548 |doi=10.1002/cncr.32567 |issn=0008-543X |pmc=7004121 |pmid=31658375}} and, with Jackson Care Connect, pioneering a HIPAA-compliant system that broadly connects health care providers and social service organizations to expedite referrals.  

CareOregon has had an increasing interest in a role as a community benefit organization, which is also an expectation of the Oregon Health Authority. CareOregon awards grants to community-based organizations that address various social determinants of health beyond housing,{{Cite web |last=Chronicle |first=The |date=2021-02-26 |title=Financial Support: $400,000 for Iron Tribe Network |url=https://www.thechronicleonline.com/news/financial-support-400-000-for-iron-tribe-network/article_99fe8d3e-779b-11eb-b4ad-93d95adb420c.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief |language=en}} including hunger, education, culturally and linguistically responsive care, disabilities, mental health and drug treatment services, staff support, and trauma-informed care. A major grant announced in 2021 was $7.5 million to “recruit and retain mental health and substance use treatment providers.”{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Elizabeth |date=2021 |title=CareOregon to give out $7.5M to behaioral health providers to address burnout |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2021/06/18/care-oregon-behavioral-health-burnout.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Portland Business Journal}}{{Cite web |last=Chronicle |first=The |date=2021-06-18 |title=Mental Health Funding: Region to see $7.5 million investment |url=https://www.thechronicleonline.com/news/mental-health-funding-region-to-see-7-5-million-investment/article_9795294e-d057-11eb-9a59-d3f65f8c6e66.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=CareOregon To Invest $7.5 Million In 25 Behavioral Health Provider Organizations To Improve Professional Recruiting & Retention |url=https://openminds.com/market-intelligence/news/careoregon-to-invest-7-5-million-in-25-behavioral-health-provider-organizations-to-address-clinical-professional-burnout/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=OPEN MINDS |language=en-US}}

The company has been recognized in multiple years by the Portland Business Journal for its community giving.

CareOregon has specialized staff who use principles of trauma-informed care to develop relationships with members who have been identified as high acuity and high cost.{{Cite web |title=Health Resilience Program™ of CareOregon |url=https://www.tfah.org/story/health-resilience-program-of-careoregon/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Trust for America's Health |language=en-US}}

CareOregon partnered in the past with the city of Portland, with a $70,000 grant to shore up the systems supporting those in mental health and drug-related crises or non-medically urgent 911 calls.{{Cite web |last=Middaugh |first=Jim |date=2021-03-03 |title=City, CareOregon Creating a Network Approach to Lower Barriers to Care For People Experiencing Mental Health and Drug-Related Crises {{!}} Portland.gov |url=https://www.portland.gov/wheeler/news/2021/3/3/city-careoregon-creating-network-approach-lower-barriers-care-people |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.portland.gov |language=en}} Columbia Pacific CCO created a $400,000 fund in 2023 to help groups in two counties increase efforts to prevent adverse childhood experiences and support trauma-informed services.{{Cite web |last=Bales |first=Nicole |date=2023-03-04 |title=A regional fund seeks to reduce childhood trauma |url=https://news.yahoo.com/regional-fund-seeks-reduce-childhood-035200043.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=The Daily Astorian |language=en-US}} Columbia Pacific also committed $594,000 to recruit and retain behavioral health providers. {{Cite web |date=2021-06-25 |title=CareOregon, Columbia Pacific CCO invest in local behavioral health providers |url=https://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/careoregon-columbia-pacific-cco-invest-in-local-behavioral-health-providers/article_f9678144-d05c-11eb-88fc-f724b1bcda49.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Tillamook Headlight-Herald |language=en}}

On Nov. 29, 2021, CareOregon announced a 10-year, $2 million partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of the Portland Metropolitan Area. It focused efforts on the club in Rockwood, an eastern Multnomah County neighborhood that is home to a large share of families on the Oregon Health Plan. As part of the partnership, the facility was renamed the CareOregon Boys & Girls Club at Rockwood.{{Cite web |last=Shalin |first=Dan |date=2021-11-29 |title=Boys & Girls Clubs And CareOregon Team Up In Rockwood |url=https://patch.com/oregon/portland/boys-girls-clubs-careoregon-team-rockwood |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Portland, OR Patch |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Elizabeth |date=2021 |title=CareOregon, Boys & Girls Club announce 10-year partnership |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2021/11/29/careoregon-boy-and-girls-club.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Portland Business Journal}}{{Cite web |last=Vaughn |first=Courtney |date=2021-12-01 |title=Rockwood Boys & Girls Club changes name and gets $2 million in funding |url=https://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/rockwood-boys-girls-club-changes-name-and-gets-2-million-in-funding/article_b280fa79-1703-56c2-b991-9c9f5651c3a3.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=TheOutlookOnline.com |language=en}}

CareOregon’s early leaders built a staff to reflect the populations using its services. In 2003, according to the founding CEO, more than 30% of CareOregon staff were people of color.{{Cite web |last=Hennrich |first=Mary Lou |date=2021 |title=Testimony in support of Oregon HB 2337 |url=https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/PublicTestimonyDocument/19827}}{{Cite web |last=Hennrich |first=Mary |date=2021-07-20 |title=Readers respond: Oregon must face workplace biases |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2021/07/readers-respond-oregon-must-face-workplace-biases.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=The Oregonian |language=en}} The company was recognized in 2021 by Modern Healthcare for its workforce diversity, including leadership.{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Top Organizations for Diversity - 2021 |url=https://www.modernhealthcare.com/awards/2021-top-organizations-diversity-careoregon |website=Modern Healthcare}}{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Top Diversity Leaders in Healthcare 2021 |url=https://www.modernhealthcare.com/awards/2021-top-25-diversity-leaders-eric-hunter |website=Modern Healthcare}}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CareOregon put a greater emphasis on community justice{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Eric C. |date=2020 |title=Black lives matter - a message to the community |url=https://www.careoregon.org/members/news-and-stories/2020/06/02/black-lives-matter---a-message-to-the-community |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=CareOregon |language=en}} and in March 2021 added an officer-level role for diversity, equity and inclusion.

For members, it supports programs to provide culturally specific care to improve health outcomes for immigrants, Tribal members and people of color.

CareOregon participates in lobbying efforts on issues related to the Oregon Health Plan and health reform, testifying at public policy hearings and holding meetings with legislators at the local, state and national levels.

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