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Patients who contract measles, a highly contagious disease, develop a skin rash. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

OHA encourages measles vaccine ahead of spring break, summer travel

Nearly eradicated from the United States for decades, the virus has seen a resurgence in more than a dozen states, including Washington and California.

Mar 21
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BLOGTREPRENEUR/CC BY 2.0)

Longtime Oregon Health Authority equity director sues state over termination

Leann Johnson has filed a federal lawsuit saying she was ‘scapegoated’ and faced retaliation for raising discrimination concerns and questioning agency leadership

Mar 21
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State Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, chatting before a session of the Oregon House on March 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Hundreds of health care bills will live or die Friday as a key deadline hits in Salem

Legislative leaders have moved efforts to address medical debt and increase payments for dentists and behavioral health workers, but may not advance bills to protect consumers from surprise fees and boost access to primary care.

Mar 20
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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

This Oct. 10, 2024 screenshot from Oregon Eligibility System (ONE), an online portal used to by Oregonians to apply for Medicaid and food stamps. | KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/OPB

Oregon’s legislature passes Medicaid tax extension in bipartisan vote

Hospital and insurer taxes, and the federal matching dollars they qualify for, are one of the cornerstones of funding the state’s Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan.

Mar 18

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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LaTasha Williams holds footprints from her daughter Essence, who lived only seven minutes after being born at just 20 weeks. | AMANDA LOMAN/INVESTIGATEWEST

Family’s experience highlights high mortality rate of Black babies, as Oregon pushes for culturally responsive care

Oregon’s “Momnibus” legislative package looks to improve outcomes through multiple supports, including expanding access to doulas

Mar 18

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