The bill, passed in the Oregon Senate on Thursday and House on Friday, caps rates for the Public Employees’ Benefit Board and Oregon Educators Benefit Board for the state’s 26 largest hospitals at 185 percent of Medicare rates for out-of-network care and 200 percent of Medicare rates for in-network services.
Oregon hospitals are objecting to the bill because the decrease in reimbursements comes alongside a hospital tax increase that will cost $120 million and termination of a federal-state quality and patient safety program that generated $180 million.
“When you add on the $190 million estimated impact from this very niche ‘cost control’ measure, we can’t do anything but be clear: It’s going to have an impact on services, on staffing and the shift of costs to other commercially insured patients,” Andy Davidson, president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, told the Portland Business Journal.
The bill’s supporters say the it will reduce state spending to help fix the budget gap.
The legislation is headed to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s desk.
More articles on healthcare finance:
7 recent donations, grants to healthcare organizations
5 recent hospital, health system outlook and credit rating actions
5 most-read finance stories: Week of July 3-7
