Money Flow

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Price-fixing claims multiply against Regence BlueCross BlueShield, other Blues insurers

The Blues say the allegations are baseless, but suits against them are mounting — with Regence hit with 10 federal suits in 48 hours — as a national $2.8 billion settlement splinters

Mar 6
Premium

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Salem Health-Regence split turns spotlight on insurance company wealth

Power struggles, pressure tactics and public brinksmanship in recent disputes between health insurers and providers — such as hospitals — are all about money. Insurers have it, and providers want more of it.

Mar 4
Premium

Image

A view of OHSU's South Waterfront campus from its main campus on Marquam Hill. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici join OHSU scientists to raise alarms over medical research cuts, others

A Trump administration effort to trim existing medical grants would carve as much as $80 million from Oregon Health & Science University, block life-saving research and cost jobs, critics say. Members of Oregon's congressional delegation want the public to speak out.

Feb 14

Image

Dr. Jane Zhu of Oregon Health & Science University examined billings for gastroenterology care before and after practices are acquired finding a boost in costs. | COURTESY OF OHSU/CHRISTINE TORRES HICKS

Study: Private equity takeovers boost billings, fees

A new study co-authored by OHSU researcher Jane Zhu drilled down on the bills issued by gastroenterologists after private equity buys their practices, finding a 78% jump in professional fees for colonoscopies and other care

Feb 11
Premium

Image

Nurses and other health care workers picket outside of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in January, 2025. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Bill would force hospitals to disclose spending during strikes

After Providence nurses at eight hospitals rejected union-negotiated contract terms, the health system continues to pay an estimated $25 million a week on replacement workers

Feb 11
Premium

Image

PIXABAY

Consultant vows to ‘zero in’ on Oregon prison care denials in wake of blistering report

A consultant hired by Oregon prison officials to look into a scathing outside review said his firm will operate with transparency and objectivity. An attorney specializing in representing people denied care said a pattern of outrageous decisions in recent years calls for a more in-depth review.

Feb 4
Premium

Image

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

Unions, care groups want appeals court to preserve Oregon health care merger oversight

As consolidation continues, the program has brought large health care transactions into focus. But a challenge over its constitutionality continues

Jan 28
Premium

Image

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

Image

St. Charles Health System in Redmond. | COURTESY ST. CHARLES HEALTH SYSTEM

St. Charles' $6 million, three-year battle over paperwork may be nearing an end

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is asking federal health officials to fix what he says is a paperwork error that has cost the central Oregon hospital system millions

Jan 21
Premium

Image

An ambulance pulls into the entrance driveway for Oregon Health & Science University's emergency department on Wed., Oct. 27, 2021. | OHSU/CHRISTINE TORRES HICKS

Burnout lingers but the ranks of Oregon health care workers are growing

Numbers of nurses and others are growing but local education programs can't keep up with new job openings, per a state report

Jan 14
Premium