Health Equity

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Ray Anthony sits at their desk inside Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette's clinic on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Portland on Sept. 15, 2023. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

Gender-affirming care can be a ‘dice game;’ this navigator tries to improve the odds

Nearly a year into the job, Ray Anthony sees hope and opportunities for improvement in a state that features some of the most protective laws in the nation

Sep 21, 2023
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COURTESY OF SAINT ALPHONSUS.

Prospects of saving Baker City hospital birth center fade

Elected officials say hospital owner Trinity Health is backtracking on staffing to continue obstetrics unit at Saint Alphonsus

Aug 14, 2023
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PIXABAY

Multnomah County dentists picket over proposal to increase patient numbers

Dentists at the county's safety-net dental clinics use lighter schedules one day a week to catch up on paperwork and tackle tougher cases; now they say the county wants to end that practice.

Aug 10, 2023
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Tina Kotek | COURTESY PHOTO

Kotek approves universal health care board but cites concerns

Governor calls $2-million plan costly, potentially duplicative, but supporters say it’s a crucial step toward needed reform.

Aug 8, 2023
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ALEXANDER GREY / PIXABAY

Most people keeping Oregon Health Plan coverage despite eligibility checks

State officials are culling the rolls after the program swelled to cover 1.5 million Oregonians during the pandemic

Jul 20, 2023

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The Capitol Building in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Final week of 2023 Legislature made a mark on Oregon health care

Lawmakers pushed to pass nurse staffing, other bills as interrupted session wound to a close

Jun 26, 2023
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The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

First round of disenrollments looms as Oregon pores through its Medicaid rolls

State officials say about 80 percent of the 1.5 million Oregon Health Plan members will keep coverage

Jun 22, 2023
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For a time, drive-through and walk-in vaccinations were available across the state, including some funded by the state. | PHOTO COPYRIGHT: PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP (USED WITH PERMISSION)

Legislature likely to provide a fraction of public health officers’ budget request

Local health officials sought $286 million to combat health disparities; a budget bill includes $50 million

Jun 20, 2023
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The closure of Legacy's Mount Hood birth center was marked with a vigil on March 17, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Legacy pushes back Gresham birth center reopening

The health system indicated it has made progress in securing staff for the birth center and has submitted its plans to regulators

Jun 13, 2023
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An employee of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services helps a consumer pick a health care plan on the federal online health insurance marketplace. | DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS SERVICES

Comment period extended as concerns grow over new health plan's effects

Kaiser Permanente is urging the state to pause the Basic Health Program, which would extend Oregon Health Plan-style benefits to more than 90,000 people, to address premium hikes that would hit tens of thousands of other Oregonians

Jun 13, 2023
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