The Lund Report

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State Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, speaks to the Oregon House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee on March 20, 2025. Nathanson was testifying in favor of a bill that would give the state attorney general powers to investigate and fine health care monopolies. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon health insurers, hospitals oppose bill to establish oversight by state justice department

State Rep. Nancy Nathanson’s legislation would prohibit contracts like the ones that critics say helped make Lane County a primary care desert last year, but health insurers and others say it goes too far

Mar 20
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SAMARITAN PACIFIC COMMUNITIES HOSPITAL IN NEWPORT./VISITOR7/CC BY-SA 3.0/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Lagging reimbursements from government may mean a merger or new partnership lie in Corvallis-based Samaritan Health’s future

The three-county system has not yet considered specific possibilities for its next move after possibly acquiring Santiam Hospital. But CEO Doug Boysen says ‘all options are on the table’ for Samaritan given a challenging financial landscape that's driving health care restructuring around the state.

Mar 20
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MOHAMED HASSAN/PIXABAY

Oregon health officials’ effort to dodge a federal contempt order hurts people experiencing mental illness, critics say

Advocates are concerned that a new Oregon Health Authority rule will substitute one civil rights violation for another by reserving community-based residential treatment for criminal defendants experiencing mental illness at the expense of others also in need

Mar 18

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Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, on Nov. 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

State wants hospitals to pay more to support the program investigating them

Oregon health officials are asking lawmakers to support a bill that would increase hospital licensing fees by a factor of five to improve outreach and oversight. They'd still be less than in Washington state, but hospital officials say the move would further burden struggling facilities.

Mar 18
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LYNNE TERRY/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon nurses, doctors split on new workplace violence bill

Health care professions are divided over a bill allowing prison time for people who’ve been convicted of multiple assaults on workers, while a separate bill would boost requirements on hospitals

Mar 18
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SHUTTERSTOCK

Tillamook dialysis center delays prompt new legislation

State Rep. Cyrus Javadi says he’s introducing a bill to ensure delays to a new treatment center for kidney patients don’t happen again, saying ‘this is something we need to fix’

Mar 14
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United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. | FRANCINE SRECA/PIXABAY

Massive Medicaid cuts floated in Congress face hurdles

Amid a sea of scenarios that would hurt low-income people and others in Oregon, not much is clear, and specific budget cuts haven’t happened yet

Mar 13
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Syphilis bacterium. | ILLUSTRATION BY JOMAR JUNIOR/PIXABAY

Oregon faces ‘crisis’ in growing number of babies born with syphilis, officials say

Even as overall syphilis numbers go down in the state, more and more babies are being born with it — particularly in rural areas

Mar 11
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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
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A hallway in OHSU's main campus in Portland in September 2024 | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Physicians group raises concerns over OHSU-Legacy merger

The Oregon Academy of Family Physicians says patients may pay more to see doctors, urges officials to demand a plan to boost access and address the statewide primary care shortage

Mar 6
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