Oregon Hospitals Oppose Senate Health Care Reform Bill

After Senate Republicans unveiled their Better Care Reconciliation Act this morning, Andy Davidson, President and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems issued the following statement:

“Oregon’s community hospitals have evaluated federal health care reform efforts based on a set of patient- and community-centered principles that focus on preserving the gains in access and affordability that we’ve made over the past decade.

 “Unfortunately, the draft Better Care Reconciliation Act released today by Senate Republicans does not meet our principles. In fact, it moves our health care system in the opposite direction. The proposed changes to Medicaid, both the end of the expansion funding as well as deep cuts to the non-expansion problem would pose severe problems for Oregon. The changes to the provider tax reimbursement rate in the early part of the next decade would add an additional layer of budgetary stress to our state, and by extension the patients we serve.

“We join with our counterparts in the national hospital community alongside patient advocates, doctors, politicians and others in urging the Senate to revise this legislation so that it focuses on improving access to affordable care and helps states achieve that goal on behalf of their citizens.”