A bill to sharply limit corporate decision making in clinics and ban most healthcare noncompete agreements in Oregon cleared a key legislative committee Thursday.
After Oregon Medical Group in Eugene was purchased by Optum, the largest employer of physicians in the U.S., many of its doctors quit, citing mandates that provided little benefit for patients.
The bill, SB 951, is supported by many physicians, as well as a few Eugene area lawmakers, who hope it will prevent future corporate takeovers.
It still faces pushback from some Republicans on the House Health Care Committee, including Linn County Rep. Ed Diehl, who said it needs serious changes.
“We’re going to lose capital investment in the state and some good companies are going to be told they’re illegal,” Diehl said prior to voting against the bill in committee.
Some healthcare industry groups have also opposed the proposal – arguing it's unfair that hospitals would remain exempt from the bill’s requirements.
The bill, which has some bipartisan support, has already cleared the Senate and is now headed for a vote on the House floor.
The bill's chief sponsor is Tigard Democrat, Rep. Ben Bowman, who is also the House majority leader. Two Eugene Democrats, Rep. Nancy Nathanson and Rep. Lisa Fragala, have strongly supported the bill.
In a video posted to her Facebook page last week, Nathanson said Eugene’s situation, where doctors feared they might be sued for practicing in the city after they left their corporate employer, showed how harmful noncompete agreements can be for a community.
“We need to say to these big companies ‘you can’t do that,’” she said. “Healthcare shouldn’t be treated as a commodity, like a box of cereal, a car or a computer, it’s healthcare.”
Optum, which owns Oregon Medical Group, did agree to allow its former employees to practice in the Eugene area after meeting with Nathanson, and Eugene Sen. Floyd Prozanski.
