Housing & Poverty

Portland, Oregon. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Shortages of funds but not of issues marked Oregon health care in 2024 Premium

With health care undergoing rapid transformation, officials and lawmakers have struggled to keep up as ripple effects hit patients, providers and members of the public

Dec 31, 2024

Tents in downtown Portland on March 14, 2022. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Housing, nutrition in peril as Trump pulls back Medicaid social services

Social problems such as homelessness and food insecurity can cause — or worsen — physical and behavioral health conditions, leading to sky-high health care spending or worse

May 19

Gov. Tina Kotek and Attorney General Dan Rayfield blasted the Trump administration on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 after federal funding portals shut down in the wake of a new White House order.

Kotek, Rayfield blast Trump over shutdown of Medicaid funding

As lawmakers take up an optimistic budget proposed by Kotek, the unexplained abrupt shutdown of federal reimbursements to a variety of safety net programs is sparking a backlash across the country

Jan 28

SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregonians brace for health care changes as second Trump term nears

Oregon’s protections for gender-affirming care, abortion and access for people who are noncitizens could face tests under a president-elect who gave mixed signals on the campaign trail

Nov 7, 2024
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PIXABAY

Ahmed Farag to be new Oregon dental director

Farag, a hospital system executive in New York, will oversee oral health policies affecting more than 1 million low-income Oregonians

Jul 25, 2024
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State Behavioral Health Director Ebony Clarke said she thinks the state needs to be audacious and bold when it comes to improving care for low-income Oregonians. | SCREENSHOT, OREGON HEALTH FORUM

Oregon behavioral health fissures add costs and block access, panel says

Oregon's notoriously fragmented system spawns administrative tasks and barriers at the expense of patients and providers, according to a panel of experts who spoke Wednesday

Jun 26, 2024
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CareOregon. | COURTESY OF CAREOREGON

Q&A: CEOs defend CareOregon merger plans, balk at specifics

Leaders of a California-based Medicare Advantage plan called SCAN Group and CareOregon, the Portland-based insurer that oversees government-funded care for 500,000 low-income Oregonians, said criticisms of their proposed merger don't recognize its benefits or the risks of inaction. The companies haven't disclosed long-term plans due to antitrust rules, they said — but growth is the goal.

Jan 9, 2024

Klamath Falls, Oregon. | BOBJGALINDO/CC BY-SA 4.0/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Lawsuit seeks $2 million over allegedly illegal hospital debt collection practices

The suit against Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls comes despite recent protections in Oregon to ensure poor patients access charity care

Nov 28, 2023
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PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, on Aug. 7, 2013. | RYTYHO USA/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

PeaceHealth to refund millions to low-income patients in Washington, but not Oregon

The health system settled a state investigation of its five Washington hospitals that found unlawful billing of thousands of patients it knew qualified for charity care

Nov 21, 2023
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