CCO Conference Highlights Community Innovation, Upcoming Challenges October 9, 2026 Oregon’s coordinated care system faces significant challenges ahead as state leaders brace for funding cuts and federal policy changes to Medicaid under H.R. 1 that could affect coverage for thousands of Oregon Health Plan members. Against that backdrop, speakers at the 13th annual CCO Oregon Conference underscored both the potential impacts of those changes while highlighting the community-based partnerships they say will be essential to navigating them. The conference, held Oct. 5 at the Salem Convention Center, brought together legislators, agency directors and CCOs from across Oregon to discuss the current healthcare landscape and successful approaches to serving their communities. Staff from IHN-CCO participated in several panels highlighting innovative projects and partnerships in our region. From Data To Impact Alicia Bublitz, Social Determinants and Transformation Manager for IHN-CCO, focused on strengthening community-led projects through the Delivery System Transformation (DST) Committee. She said the DST Committee has funded more than 100 pilot projects in Benton, Linn and Lincoln counties and awarded more than $26 million to local organizations since 2012. Last year, the committee voted to take 10% of its funding and put it toward helping organizations strengthen their projects through data and storytelling. IHN-CCO hired independent consultant Barrett Ebright Karnes, who assisted 16 organizations in 2025 with developing logic models and data collection strategies for their projects. One of those was ANDARES, a Corvallis-based nonprofit serving the Latino and immigrant communities in our region. Ricardo Contreras, the group’s Executive Director and co-founder, along with program lead and co-founder Keiri López-Rosel, explained how they launched a new outreach program, called “Conexiones,” in Harrisburg through the (literal) art of community mapping to identify strengths and areas of concern. Ricardo Contreras, Executive Director and co-founder of ANDARES, discusses a new outreach program in Harrisburg, along with Keiri López-Rosel, program lead and co-founder. That groundwork led to several community projects throughout the year, including English language and computer literacy classes, “Know Your Rights” training, family emergency preparedness and bringing in a SamCare mobile clinic. Contreras said the program continues to grow and has since been introduced to two other communities in Corvallis. “I think that project mapping allows us to better think about what we want to do,” Contreras said. “There must be continuity, and the evaluation process has allowed us to do that.” Difficult Choices Ahead Laurel Schwinabart (center), Trial Liaison for IHN-CCO, was part of a panel discussing the strategic role of Tribal liaisons at the CCO Oregon Conference in Salem. In other panels, Justin Thomas, Behavioral Health Program Director for IHN-CCO, discussed how CCOs are collaborating with local Education Service Districts to support healthy students and families, while Laurel Schwinabart, Tribal Liaison for IHN-CCO, shared how her role supports Tribes while honoring their culture and sovereignty. Those types of partnerships are central to coordinated care in Oregon, though speakers acknowledged there will be tough choices ahead. During a panel of state legislators, Sen. Kate Lieber (D-Beaverton), co-chair of the Joint Ways & Means Committee, put it bluntly: “During this session, we’re going to have to ask you all for a lot of feedback on potential cuts, and then you have to be really honest with us about what that’s going to do to the system that you operate in. From left, House Majority Leader Ben Bowman (D-Tigard), Sen. Kate Lieber (D-Beaverton), Rep. Emily McIntire (R-Eagle Point) and Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland) wrapped up the annual conference. “People are going to lose their healthcare. We are going to have to skinny down our benefits. How we do that is going to be really important.” House Healthcare Committee Chair Rob Nosse (D-Portland) said that, for many legislators, that may put them in an uncomfortable position. “(Many) of us have never had to cut a budget — like, actually go into a program and take things away from people that they’ve been relying on,” Nosse said. Keeping Members Center ODHS Director Liesl Wendt and OHA Interim Director Fariborz Pakseresht said the Oregon Health Plan faces a significant budget shortfall, meaning the state needs to be realistic about what it can afford to do. OHA Interim Director Fariborz Pakseresht (left) and ODHS Director Liesl Wendt speak to the large gathering of healthcare leaders. “Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to take a step forward,” Pakseresht said. “We have a really tough two years ahead, and then what comes after that is not clear.” Pakseresht emphasized the need to keep members at the center of the system. The state must help OHP members make sense of what’s changing while ensuring they maintain coverage for as many qualifying Oregonians as possible. Wendt said the local partnerships developed by CCOs are one resource they can leverage to navigate the uncertainty. Reflecting on the Great Recession in 2008-09, she said Oregon has navigated difficult crises before. She is confident the state can do it again. “I think that, when we have less resources, it becomes more compelling that we work together to figure out how to stretch those dollars,” Wendt said. “So, in an odd way, I see this as an opportunity for us to really sit down together and say, ‘How does this resource plus this resource plus that resource start to build a system for the people that we’re serving?’ “If we center on the members’ experience, I think that can be our guidepost for the future.”
