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Baker County in eastern Oregon. | IAN POELLET/CC BY-SA 3.0/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Opinion: Fair reimbursement rates can bring down health care costs for Oregonians, including in rural areas

Congress should halt the practice of paying hospitals more than independent practices for the exact same procedures — which is driving a costly surge in consolidation — and adopt site-neutral payment reforms

Nov 14, 2024

SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon task force finds ways to prevent patients from boarding in hospitals

For more than a year, a state task force has tackled the problem of people stuck in hospitals with nowhere to go, taking up beds that others need

Nov 14, 2024

GUNDULA VOGEL/PIXABAY

Watchdog calls for tighter scrutiny of Medicare Advantage home visits

Medicare officials defend the use of home visits that often spot medical conditions that are never treated.

Nov 14, 2024

Holding cells at the Josephine County Jail. | DAVE BLANCHARD/OPB

A health care goliath operating in jails in Oregon and Washington files for bankruptcy

Wellpath’s move could impact at least one wrongful death case out of Southern Oregon

Nov 14, 2024

A doctor using a digital tablet. | SHUTTERSTOCK

State regulators know health insurance directories are full of wrong information. They’re doing little to fix it.

Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services conducts spot checks of provider networks to see if listings are accurate, but does not track results. It hasn’t issued a fine for directory errors since 2019.

Nov 14, 2024

Unity Center for Behavioral Health is in Northeast Portland.

Health authority is flouting new Biden anti-discrimination rules, hospitals claim

A federal court battle over who should care for severely mentally ill people is evolving as advocates join hospitals in saying the state neglects its obligations

Nov 14, 2024
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Oregon Health & Science University at night. | OHSU/CHRISTINE TORRES HICKS

OHSU paused live-pig training for OB/GYN residents after ‘many’ opted out

Records indicate a years-long pressure campaign by animal rights activists may be bearing fruit, and in light of the pause the group PETA says it will temporarily stop protesting at board meetings

Nov 12, 2024
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OONA ZENDA/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Dentists are pulling ‘healthy’ and treatable teeth to profit from implants, experts warn

This year, Oregon started requiring dentists to complete 56 hours of hands-on training before placing any implants following dozens of state investigations of botched surgeries and other implant failures

Nov 12, 2024

A pile of flowers and a note eulogizing Bobby Smallwood, a security officer for Legacy Health, sit outside the Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was killed during a confrontation on July 30, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Family of slain Legacy security guard files $35 million lawsuit against hospital system

Complaint alleges management repeatedly failed to follow its own safety policies

Nov 12, 2024
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MYLÉNE/PIXABAY

Washington’s rural maternity wards are struggling to stay afloat

Rural hospitals are supporting a bill, co-sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, to increase Medicaid reimbursements for rural hospitals and provide other support

Nov 12, 2024

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