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State Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, shown at the Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference on Nov. 14, 2023 in Portland. Diehl is sponsoring a bill to overhaul the state’s health care professional licensing process. (Left) State. Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, and (right) Rep. Thuy Tran, D-Portland. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Task force would tackle Oregon health care licensing delays

Legislation intended to provide a short-term fix for staffing shortages has turned into an effort to dig into oft-cited problems in Oregon’s certification agencies

Feb 22, 2024
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SHUTTERSTOCK

Senate committee axes proposal for mandatory addiction treatment for children

The Senate Human Services Committee trimmed the bill down to a pilot program giving drug users quick access to treatment medication

Feb 22, 2024

Oregon State Capitol in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon Democrats agree to stronger criminal penalties for drug possession

A negotiated bill that includes the potential of six months in jail is expected to have momentum in the Capitol

Feb 22, 2024

ANTONIO GUILLEM/SHUTTERSTOCK

Governments can erase your medical debt for pennies on the dollar — and some are

Some states and cities will use federal money to forgive millions of dollars of their residents’ medical debt

Feb 22, 2024

LENA SAMCHENKOVA/UNSPLASH

Washington tribes look to Iceland for help getting teens off drugs

The model rethinks how to discourage drug use by placing responsibility on the community, rather than the individual

Feb 20, 2024

An AMR ambulance at Legacy Health Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland, Ore., on July 30, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

AMR ambulance service to blame for slow response times, MultCo chair says

Mediation is next as fines mount for contract violations over slow response times

Feb 20, 2024
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A pile of flowers and a note eulogizing Bobby Smallwood, a security officer for Legacy Health, sit outside the Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was killed during a confrontation on July 30, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

New push to make hospital worker assault a felony sparks familiar concerns

Lawmakers are again debating whether stiffer penalties for assaulting hospital workers would criminalize people for mental illness

Feb 20, 2024
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CareOregon. | COURTESY OF CAREOREGON

Proposed CareOregon merger was unlawful, state lawyers concluded

CareOregon leaders stood to win big, but a review said the public interest would suffer if the nonprofit merged with California-based SCAN Group. Proponents don't agree.

Feb 20, 2024

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Opinion: Oregon should battle the hostile takeover of its health care system

Legislation would curb the trend in which private equity investors, insurance conglomerates and retail chains are swallowing clinics and transferring power away from patients and their doctors, writes former Gov. John Kitzhaber

Feb 20, 2024

David Mitchell, founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs, sits in his home office. Beside him are some of the many drugs he takes to treat multiple myeloma and other conditions. | ARTHUR ALLEN/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Patients see first savings from Biden’s drug price push, as Pharma lines up its lawyers

The restructuring of Medicare Part D, which covers most retail prescription drugs, is already lowering costs for many Medicare patients who spent more than $3,500 a year on their Part D drugs

Feb 18, 2024

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