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PeaceHealth, healthcare and community leaders break ground at a new rehabilitation hospital during a celebration on March 12, 2025. | REBECCA HANSEN-WHITE / KLCC

PeaceHealth breaks ground on Springfield rehabilitation hospital

The new rehab hospital on PeaceHealth’s RiverBend campus will be operated by Lifepoint, a national company that has similar facilities in Western Washington.
Mar 21
ANTONIO GUILLEM/SHUTTERSTOCK

In New York, providers must put patient costs on the table

Advocates don’t want consumers signing 'blank check' forms that risk financial jeopardy. Doctors, hospitals, and other providers don’t want to disrupt their practices’ workflow and payment logistics with cost discussions and paperwork.
Mar 21
State Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, chatting before a session of the Oregon House on March 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Hundreds of health care bills will live or die Friday as a key deadline hits in Salem

Legislative leaders have moved efforts to address medical debt and increase payments for dentists and behavioral health workers, but may not advance bills to protect consumers from surprise fees and boost access to primary care.
Mar 20
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State Rep. Nancy Nathanson
State Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, speaks to the Oregon House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee on March 20, 2025. Nathanson was testifying in favor of a bill that would give the state attorney general powers to investigate and fine health care monopolies. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon health insurers, hospitals oppose bill to establish oversight by state justice department

State Rep. Nancy Nathanson’s legislation would prohibit contracts like the ones that critics say helped make Lane County a primary care desert last year, but health insurers and others say it goes too far
Mar 20
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SAMARITAN PACIFIC COMMUNITIES HOSPITAL IN NEWPORT./VISITOR7/CC BY-SA 3.0/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Lagging reimbursements from government may mean a merger or new partnership lie in Corvallis-based Samaritan Health’s future

The three-county system has not yet considered specific possibilities for its next move after possibly acquiring Santiam Hospital. But CEO Doug Boysen says ‘all options are on the table’ for Samaritan given a challenging financial landscape that's driving health care restructuring around the state.
Mar 20
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This Oct. 10, 2024 screenshot from Oregon Eligibility System (ONE), an online portal used to by Oregonians to apply for Medicaid and food stamps. | KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/OPB

Oregon’s legislature passes Medicaid tax extension in bipartisan vote

Hospital and insurer taxes, and the federal matching dollars they qualify for, are one of the cornerstones of funding the state’s Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan.
Mar 18
Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, on Nov. 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

State wants hospitals to pay more to support the program investigating them

Oregon health officials are asking lawmakers to support a bill that would increase hospital licensing fees by a factor of five to improve outreach and oversight. They'd still be less than in Washington state, but hospital officials say the move would further burden struggling facilities.
Mar 18
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