The Oregon Health Authority wants to expand access to health care, grow the state’s behavioral health system and connect more families to preventative health care. The goals are foundational for the agency’s aim of eliminating inequities in health care by 2030. The health authority on Tuesday released its strategic plan that will guide that work.
The plan covers the next three years and encompasses broad areas like access to health care, behavioral health care and tribal health. The goal is to end systemic unfairness in the health care system that leads to different health outcomes for different communities, such as people of color, minority residents and immigrants. Inequities can lead to major life-changing consequences, with Black people and Native Americans having shorter average lifespans than white residents.
Oregonians in rural regions struggle to access care and have more diabetes, heart disease and depression. The inequities can manifest in different ways and contribute to a person’s overall health, including a lack of access to providers, unaffordable housing or a lack of translation services in health clinics. “These inequities go beyond health statistics,” Dr.
Sejal Hathi, the health authority’s director, said in a press conference. “They rob people of dignity, of opportunity and quality of life, and when it comes to health, we’re all connected.” The plan covers five broad areas: Expanding the behavioral health care system with more workers, prev.