Oregon has a tradition of health care organizations working together. Oregonians reap the benefits.
The examples of these partnerships are all around us. Mass vaccination sites with hospitals and county public health departments teaming up with volunteers have administered most of the lifesaving COVID-19 doses. Coordinated care organizations created a new way to extend Medicaid coverage to over a million Oregonians and are a national model.
Over the years, some Oregon hospitals have created new partnerships with each other, especially in rural parts of the state. Some are mergers. Some are acquisitions. Others are affiliations. Each have different circumstances going in, and some are guided by a public process.
The result has been expanded care and services for Oregonians. Sophisticated specialty care, including cancer and heart treatment, is now available much closer to home for thousands of people. Oregonians. Most importantly, at a time when rural hospitals are closing across the country, our state has not lost a single hospital.
Here are just a few of the examples of partnerships to expand health care access:
· Ashland Community Hospital/Asante Health
· Pacific Communities Hospital (Newport) and North Lincoln Hospital/Samaritan Health
· Silverton Hospital/Legacy Health
· Tuality Hospital/OHSU
Each has resulted in larger care networks, and the new structures have led to the construction of two brand new hospitals on the coast.
There are not deals made without state oversight. Our Attorney General’s office reviews the details of each of the proposed arrangements to make sure they are in the public interest, and that access to high quality affordable care is maintained.
A recent study by the American Hospital Association showed costs went down by 2.3 percent thanks to efficiencies and new technology.
House Bill 2362 would add a new layer of unnecessary state regulation to the process, and none of the services that supporters cite are in danger of being lost or reduced.
And, speaking of collaboration, Oregon’s health care providers have been key partners in the evolution toward value-based payments (VBP), which lower costs and reward quality health outcomes over quantity. The passage of HB 2362 could jeopardize this work.
Just last week OHA announced that 40 organizations, including providers and insurance companies covering two-thirds of the population, have pledged to keep working to contain costs through VBP. It’s a unique partnership in American health care.
When Oregonians come together to solve health care problems, innovative solutions happen.
Let’s keep it that way.