Oregon Hospitals Celebrate 2015 Session, July 13

The 2015 Legislative Session was one of the most proactive and productive in recent memory for hospitals and health care, as well as the patients hospitals serve, announced the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) today. From partnering for the fifth consecutive biennium to fund a significant portion of the state’s Medicaid program, to passing landmark price transparency legislation and collaborating to update Oregon’s nurse staffing law, hospitals’ priorities were front and center in the legislature. Hospitals also announced several voluntary initiatives while the legislature was in session–all designed to help Oregon patients and their communities. One of those initiatives was the announcement that Oregon hospitals will maintain their community benefit spending levels even as charity care, a significant portion of that total, drops in the wake of the Affordable Care Act. Hospitals across the state also agreed to offer free care to those earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level. In keeping with their commitment to quality and transparency, hospitals also launched a new website, OregonHospitalGuide.org, which currently displays the quality ratings for every hospital in the state. This user-friendly platform will incorporate further data on hospitals in future months, giving patients an ability to compare all Oregon hospitals.