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Consumer Credit Counseling of Southern Oregon

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Special Events

Opinion: Address health from all angles

July 22, 2019 by Bill Ihle Leave a Comment

Our CEO & Executive Director Bill Ihle encourages coordinated care organizations to consider individuals’ financial health as part of their overall health. The following is an article on The Lund Report:

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Opinion: Oregon’s CCOs Must Address Clients’ Health from All Angles
By: Bill Ihle

The State of Oregon is finally recognizing that the factors that influence an individual’s health extend far beyond a doctor’s office or lab results. These social determinants of health include housing, adequate nutrition, education, and at the root of it all, financial health.

In early July, the Oregon Health Authority awarded 15 coordinated care organizations one- and five-year contracts totaling over $6 billion annually to administer Medicaid to nearly one million Oregonians. Each CCO was asked to ensure that it met a set of comprehensive health policies advanced by Gov. Kate Brown to improve the health of Oregon Health Plan members in ways that had never been directly addressed before. These CCOs are required to address the social factors that contribute to their clients’ health, with the goal of improving lives far beyond the clinical setting.

The desired long-term outcome of this whole-life approach to health care is presumably improved physical health, ultimately leading to a widespread decrease in health care costs statewide. But how will it work? In my experience, it has to start with financial health.

According to a 2004 study from the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute, about 50 percent of the factors that determine health outcomes are related to social determinants of health and health equity, while clinical care only accounts for 20 percent. Financial well-being is at the core of these social determinants. Everything — adequate housing, nutrition, transportation, literacy, and much more — is dependent on basic financial health.

There’s even more evidence that improving financial health can contribute to better social health. A recent independent survey of people in the Medford area who were previously homeless and are now transitioning to more stable housing, and have completed a financial education and counseling program in the past 12 months showed dramatic results: 57 percent of the respondents reported that they were now on a personal budget and were sticking to it; 37 percent had started to pay down their debt; 32 percent reported their credit score had improved and 13 percent had even purchased a car. A car! To me, that last statistic is the most impressive. These people are coming from addiction and extreme poverty to overcome a major obstacle to keeping a job, securing food, and obtaining basic medical care. Financial well-being opens doors that some people didn’t even realize were closed.

Measurable outcomes like these must matter to the CCOs around the state as they roll out their vital work of supporting the well-being of Oregonians. The task ahead of them is immense, and it is crucial that they succeed. Knowing that the CCOs have a state-mandated directive to address social determinants of health is like music to my ears, because I’ve seen first-hand that financial well-being can literally be the difference between life or death for some of our most disadvantaged community members. I challenge this new class of CCOs to embrace this revolutionary approach to health care and create a new way forward for all Oregonians in need.

Medford resident Bill Ihle has served as CEO and Executive Director of Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Southern Oregon since 2017.

Filed Under: Special Events

My Money Checkup

September 16, 2018 by Bill Ihle 3 Comments

Siskiyou County residents can get help improving their financial future through a new program called My Money Checkup. The free program offers a secure online assessment of an individual’s finances, plus a free 30-minute credit counseling session conducted by phone by a Certified Counselor.

This program is free, confidential, and secure.

To participate in My Money Checkup:

  • Clients must be residents of Siskiyou County, and have a valid email address.
  • Visit mymoneycheckup.com to start the assessment
    • Participants will enter information on their current financial status.
    • At the end of the assessment, users will get report on several areas of financial health, with an indication of areas they need to improve on
  • After the assessment, participants will call CCCS to schedule their free 30-minute counseling session. They need to be sure to mention they have completed the My Money Checkup assessment
  • Before the counseling session, participants must fill out a worksheet
    • Download here or call 541-779-2273 to obtain the worksheet by mail or fax
    • Mail or fax your worksheet back to the CCCS office prior to the counseling session
  • Your session can be conducted over the phone, or in person at our Medford office.

The program is available now through June 30, 2019. Start your My Money Checkup now.

This video explains how My Money Checkup works:

What to Expect – Take MyMoneyCheckUp® from NFCC on Vimeo.

Filed Under: Special Events

Rebuilding Lives with Rogue Retreat

April 23, 2018 by Bill Ihle Leave a Comment

We’re excited to be in a new partnership with Rogue Retreat, which provides affordable housing and case management to homeless individuals and families in Jackson County. The partnership offers Rogue Retreat participants the opportunity to learn their credit score and have personal credit counseling. Recently, Wayne from CCCS spoke at Rogue Retreat’s life skills classes, and Rogue Retreat captured the moment on Facebook:

“One important piece of our ‘secret sauce’ case management is our Monday night life skills meetings. We bring Rogue Retreat participants together (including children) to share vital information and resources for future success and moving forward.

“This last Monday we had Consumer Credit come to talk about how to build credit. We partner with Consumer Credit to offer our participants the opportunity to learn their credit score and have personal counseling on it.

“It works!

“One recent graduate from Rogue Retreat who did the credit scores and counseling (and took it seriously) returned to our offices this last week showing off her new car she was able to get due to her good credit scores and full time job.

“Rogue Retreat helps restore lives!”

Filed Under: Special Events

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