The Lund Report

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Input sought: Can Oregon’s health care merger watchdog do better?

Public comments will be accepted online and in virtual meetings this month as state volunteers take a look at how an increasingly high-profile office tries to protect against any harmful effects from health care mergers

Sep 2, 2025
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The emergency department at Legacy Good Samaritan hospital in Portland on July 30, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Continued challenges at Legacy trigger drop in financial health grade

A prominent bond ratings agency says that despite some improvements Legacy needs to curb its worrisome loss of reserves. The system cites low government reimbursements and high costs for charity care and labor

Sep 2, 2025
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COURTESY CDC

Cases of whooping cough in Oregon on track to set new 70-year high

Whooping cough, a particular threat to babies, is surging to new levels. The newest outbreak is in Tillamook County, which reported zero cases last year — but now has more than 20.

Sep 2, 2025
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ALEXANDER GREY/PIXABAY

Feds launch new push to remove immigrants from state Medicaid rolls

Oregon officials responded to a first request but did not provide personal details about enrollees, but new monthly enrollment checks will be required

Aug 28, 2025

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Nurses and patients rally to save the maternity units in Lebanon and Lincoln City outside Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital on July 23, 2025. | PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN MEALY/OREGON NURSES ASSOCIATION

Samaritan decides to continue maternity, surgical services in Lebanon, Lincoln City

The health care system will try to reduce its use of expensive temporary providers while creating hospital-wide teams to coordinate maternity and surgical care

Aug 28, 2025
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Shutterstock

Danish drug giant sues Tualatin plastic surgery clinic

Pharmaceutical giant’s suit claims Gorin Plastic Surgery used misleading marketing to sell compounded version of anti-obesity meds. The suit is one of 12 filed across the country as the firm tries to squelch the proliferation of copycat versions that are less expensive.

Aug 28, 2025
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LUND REPORT ILLUSTRATION/SHUTTERSTOCK

Rep. Rob Nosse warns of risks if Oregon's Medicaid care system unravels

Organizations charged to direct care in the state's Medicaid plan are considering pulling out of the program entirely, raising the alarm among state health officials and lawmakers

Aug 26, 2025

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SASINT/PIXABAY

Opinion: Advocates should dig into the numbers to make universal health work

Business consultant says extending care and eliminating waste and fragmentation through single-payer is more likely to happen when single-payer advocates roll up their sleeves to tackle the complexity

Aug 26, 2025
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Right to left: U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter talks with Portland-area health care providers about Medicaid changes coming to Oregon as U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, and OHSU President Shereef Elnahal look on. | JOANNE ZUHL/THE LUND REPORT

Federal law looms for Oregonians’ health coverage

Concerns are rising across Oregon as the potential impacts of the Republican-driven law passed in July sink in. Medicaid cuts and other changes expected to start in 2027 could affect access to care for hundreds of thousands of Oregonians.

Aug 26, 2025
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Multnomah County worked to vaccinate people of color and people experiencing homelessness. | MOTOYA NAKAMURA/MULTNOMAH COUNTY

Oregon's health care program for low-income people is in ‘crisis,’ leaders say

Much publicized federal cuts haven't even kicked in yet. But the state's health care system for 1.4 million low-income people is already bleeding red ink, and leaders of the care organizations in the Oregon Health Plan say they can't afford to keep delivering care at a huge loss.

Aug 21, 2025