Our founder's message: Why I’m stepping back from the board of The Lund Report, and what’s next

With the encouragement of Aaron Katz, who published a health care publication in Seattle, I created my first nonprofit newsletter, Oregon Health Forum in 1990. Jack Friedman, then CEO of Providence Health Plan, was the first board chair. Bill Hoveke, a senior management executive at BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon convinced its then president to print thousands of copies of the newsletter gratis without any oversight of the stories. 

I gained notoriety right out of the gate, reporting that Stan Long, then president and chief executive officer of SAIF Corp., the state’s worker’s compensation insurer, had accepted a new position on the East Coast as president of AIG Claims Services. Long, who denied the story, called my board, demanding they fire me. But the board stood behind me. Long left SAIF three months later, accepting the new position. When I asked him for an interview, he turned me down.

After reporting on the excess revenue of Oregon’s non-profit hospitals, I withstood yet another challenge. Ken Rutledge, then president of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems appeared before my board, insisting they fire me. But once again I kept my position.

It wasn’t until years later, in 2006, that the board told me I had to leave. For several months, I’d been reporting on a hospitalized patient at Kaiser Permanente, an Orthodox Jew, who became upset after being served bacon for breakfast. After I refused Kaiser’s request to publish a retraction, the board fired me. At the time I also had been reporting on the high profit margins of Oregon hospitals compared to their charity care numbers.

Realizing there was still a need to expose the health care industry, I launched The Lund Report as an independent news source in 2008. Supporters rallied around me, including state health official Rocky King, advocate Ellen Pinney, FamilyCare Health CEO Jeff Heatherington, Susan Prows and Northwest Health Foundation leader Thomas Aschenbrener. 

Not long thereafter I uncovered the merger between PacificSource Health Plan and Legacy Health after receiving a tip from several physicians who provided the financial data. I wrote about the turmoil at the Oregon Health Authority under the leadership of Lynne Saxton. It led to the departure of FamilyCare as a coordinated care organization from the state’s Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan. 

I called attention to the deep cuts by legislators to the state’s Mental Health Division, which led to problems in local communities. To follow the money, I published the high salaries and bonuses of insurance and hospital executives and their huge reserves. In a subsequent story that appeared in The Oregonian, I took on Mark Ganz, president of Regence BlueCross BlueShield for his wasteful spending on unsuccessful for-profit ventures, using money gained from health insurance premiums by employers and individuals.

In 2015, I re-established the Oregon Health Forum on the advice of Jeff Heatherington, then a board member. As an independent arm of The Lund Report. Oregon Health Forum convenes discussions on critical health policy issues bringing together panels of experts.

Looking to the future

Today, The Lund Report is considered the premiere source of health news in Oregon and southwest Washington. Lawmakers, public health officials, health care executives and physicians rely on its coverage to remain up-to-date and make important health care decisions.

Our coverage continues to result in action. The Oregon Health Authority rescinded its policy of denying Medicaid coverage of certain medically necessary procedures to children because of The Lund Report’s coverage. The authority also began working with indigenous language interpreters, which it had been ignoring. 

The Lund Report has been at the forefront covering Measure 110, the Oregon State Hospital, and other aspects of our failing behavioral health system. The Institute for Nonprofit News recently announced that a project spearheaded by The Lund Report has been listed as a finalist in two different categories of the Nonprofit News Awards. In January, the collaboration with the University of Oregon’s Catalyst Journalism Project and Oregon Public Broadcasting published exhaustive reporting showing that school districts across the state are failing to provide robust, science-based prevention as state law requires.

Over time I’ve earned a reputation as someone who will not back down or shy away from controversy. It’s in my nature!

Looking ahead, I’m convinced The Lund Report will remain strong under the leadership of Nick Budnick, our editor-in-chief. He’ll continue my tradition of bringing sunlight to an industry and a system that sorely need it.

I’m being honored at a gala on September 19 for my years of service. I hope to see you there!

Diane Lund-Muzikant is the founder and editor emeritus of The Lund Report. She launched the news site in April 2009 after spending the previous three decades working as a health care journalist.