The house bill would prevent further financial stress on hospitals
LAKE OSWEGO–Oregon’s hospitals are calling on the Oregon House Revenue Committee to pass HB 2010-A, legislation essential to protecting health care access for 1.4 million Oregonians who rely on the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and preventing further destabilization of hospitals.
Without legislative action this session, OHP faces a $2 billion funding shortfall, threatening the benefits, services, and programs that support Oregon’s most vulnerable populations.
Some 97% of Oregonians are now insured–the highest rate in state history. OHP has been central to this achievement, covering one in three Oregonians, including 57% of the state’s children.
Oregon hospitals have long played a key role in helping fund OHP by supporting the hospital assessment, which–when combined with federal matching funds–accounts for nearly a quarter of OHP’s total funding.
“As we continue to monitor potential federal policy changes that could impact Medicaid programs nationwide, our top priority must be supporting and stabilizing the health care system and the programs that we have today,” said Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the Hospital Association of Oregon. “Passage of HB 2010-A supports continued health care access for Oregon families, children, seniors, and rural communities while also preventing further stress on our financially fragile hospitals.”
Passing HB 2010-A is a critical step in preventing further destabilization of Oregon’s hospitals, about half of which are operating at a loss. Since early 2020, hospitals’ facility payroll costs alone have increased 43%, as they have continued to invest more in staff to meet patient needs. But without adequate payment from Medicaid and other health insurers, hospitals are struggling to keep services available, including emergency departments, labor and delivery units, behavioral health care, and specialty services like oncology. Some hospitals have already been forced to reduce or eliminate services, a trend that will only accelerate if funding is cut.
Oregon’s hospitals urge lawmakers to pass HB 2010-A to maintain health coverage and to help Oregonians access the care they need.
About the Hospital Association of Oregon
Founded in 1934, the Hospital Association of Oregon (HAO) is a mission-driven, nonprofit trade association representing Oregon’s 61 hospitals. Together, hospitals are the sixth largest private employer statewide, employing nearly 70,000 employees. Committed to fostering a stronger, safer, more equitable Oregon where all people have access to the high-quality care they need, the hospital association supports Oregon’s hospitals so they can support their communities; educates government officials and the public on the state’s health landscape, and works collaboratively with policymakers, community based organizations and the health care community to build consensus on and advance health care policy benefiting the state’s four million residents.
