Access & Quality

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Shelda Holmes in her office on Oct. 17, 2024, the day before she closed Hands On Medicine, the primary care clinic she founded in 2006. Even after closing the clinic, Holmes said she'll have years of work ahead of her to get paid for the care provided by the clinic. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Hands On Medicine says goodbye as independent clinics struggle to break even

Northeast Portland clinic’s story shows predicament of independent primary care providers across the country

Oct 29, 2024

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The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Unexpected signups fuel $260 million budget hole at Oregon Health Authority

Unexpectedly high enrollment numbers in the Oregon Health Plan will cost ‘a big chunk of change’ official says, and agency officials now will ask lawmakers for help funding that care as well as for unplanned staffing costs at the Oregon State Hospital

Oct 22, 2024
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Oregon House Majority Leader Ben Bowman speaks about his efforts to curb what critics call the "corporatization of medicine" at the Oregon Health Forum on Oct. 16, 2024, in Portland. To his left is Brian Kelly, CEO of Women’s Healthcare Associates. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Uneven playing field pushes independent docs to corporate medicine, Oregon panel says

With lawmakers expected to take up legislation that’s being watched across the country, experts detailed a complicated picture

Oct 17, 2024
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SAMARITAN PACIFIC COMMUNITIES HOSPITAL IN NEWPORT./VISITOR7/CC BY-SA 3.0/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Surgeons file $4.5 million whistleblower retaliation suit against Samaritan Health Services

Two reconstructive surgeons have filed a whistleblower retaliation suit against the Corvallis-based health system, saying they were fired for complaining that management’s cost-cutting hurt care

Oct 15, 2024
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Emma Sandoe, Oregon's new director of Medicaid, will oversee care for 1.4 million low-income people in the Oregon Health Plan. She's shown speaking last week at the annual conference of CCO Oregon, a trade group focused on the regional care entities that manage Medicaid in the state. | COURTESY CCO OREGON

New Oregon Medicaid Director Emma Sandoe readies for challenges

Bearing a national health policy reputation, the new manager of the Oregon Health Plan will have to adapt to a very different program after working in North Carolina

Oct 8, 2024
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AKKALAK AIEMPRADIT/SHUTTERSTOCK

Daiya Healthcare settles Medicare fraud allegations

Active in Portland, Vancouver, Gresham and across the western United States, a healthcare staffing firm that specializes in care for the elderly has settled two lawsuits filed by former employees that sparked federal investigations of alleged fraudulent billing

Sep 24, 2024
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SHUTTERSTOCK

Tenth lawsuit claims Oregon lab’s testing caused women harm from unneeded chemotherapy

The 10 women who’ve sued Salem-based Pacific Pathology say inaccurate tests led to false diagnoses, grueling treatment and permanent injuries — and the firm is contesting their claims in court

Sep 17, 2024

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Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford in June, 2024. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Asante Rogue sued for $303 million over claims that fentanyl swaps infected patients

The new lawsuit on behalf of 18 patients — half of them now deceased — represents the latest challenge for a health system that struggled financially before this year

Sep 4, 2024
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Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles is tentatively being absorbed by California-based Adventist Health. | PHOTO BY LARVICK MEDIA/COURTESY OF MCMC

State seeks input on Columbia Gorge hospital, Gentiva hospice care

Well after the purchases of Mid-Columbia Medical Center and Kindred Hospice by Adventist Health and a private equity firm, respectively, officials want to know how they are doing

Aug 29, 2024
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Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Feds question safety at Oregon State Hospital yet again after patient overdose

The latest in a string of reports questioning the Oregon Health Authority's management of the state's secure psychiatric hospital suggests smuggled fentanyl killed a patient in May

Aug 26, 2024