The Lund Report

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Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | BEN BOTKIN/THE LUND REPORT

State health officials, judge, appear ready to curb admissions to the Oregon State Hospital

In response to a motion filed by an advocacy group that opposes confinement of people experiencing mental illness, a judge is poised to block people accused of misdemeanors and low-level felonies from being sent to the hospital for care, potentially meaning some in need of inpatient care won't receive it

Mar 19
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CREATIVE COMMONS/SOURCE

Providence Health Plans, one of Oregon’s largest insurers, is looking for a buyer

The company’s announcement, which included few details, follows months of downsizing for its owner, Providence Health & Services

Mar 19
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Gov. Tina Kotek speaks to reporters during a media availability on the rooftop of The Independence Hotel in Independence, Oregon on April 14, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

State officials defend Oregon health care fraud enforcement efforts

In a response to Congress, Gov. Tina Kotek says the state is aggressively pursuing potential fraud in the Oregon Health Plan, the publicly funded health care program for lower-income people

Mar 18
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An AMR ambulance at Legacy Health Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland, Ore., on July 30, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Multnomah County opens review of emergency response, ambulance contract

A consultant’s report recommends the county explore alternatives even as American Medical Response gears up to ask for higher rates

Mar 17
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Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Advocacy group wants to limit who’s admitted to the Oregon State Hospital and for how long

State health officials say they’ve made improvements in admitting criminal defendants deemed mentally ill, but a new law intended could complicate those efforts

Mar 17
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THOMAS BREHER/PIXABAY

Portland-based Legitscript asks federal judge to reconsider demand for 1.2 million documents

A New York company that markets itself as assisting people buying cheaper drugs from overseas sources is suing a Portland firm set up to block that kind of activity. Legitscript keeps losing in court rulings, but has asked U.S District Judge Michael Simon to reconsider his latest finding against it.

Mar 12
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Opinion: Primary care access in Portland is worse than you think

New research reveals just how critical the shortage of primary care providers is in Portland. And when access is limited, conditions go unmanaged, diagnoses are delayed, and emergency departments become a default solution, says an OHSU primary care doctor.

Mar 12
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Small Doses: Oregon's nurses union rallies against PeaceHealth’s emergency room change

Also, OHSU faces a lawsuit over a recent data breach, and a plan to pause Oregon's health care cost-control program gets put on hold

Mar 12
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PEOPLEIMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK

Some of Portland’s most vulnerable patients face long waits for primary care, study finds

New research led by Oregon Health & Science University shows that the city has a higher rate of primary care clinics that are owned by hospitals or health care systems and a higher share that won’t take patients on Medicare

Mar 12
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CHOKCHAI POOMICHAIYA/SHUTTERSTOCK

PeaceHealth emergency room deal will test new Oregon law

An Atlanta-based firm set up a company in Oregon to try to comply with a new state law governing the practice of medicine, but lawmakers say it’s precisely the sort of arrangement they were trying to stop

Mar 10
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