Workforce development
We are working in partnership with labor unions and legislators on solutions that rebuild the pipeline of health care workers.
We support 60 hospitals in providing the very best care to millions of Oregonians. Our focus is on advancing a policy agenda that addresses hospitals’ current and long-term needs to sustain a health care system generations of Oregonians can rely on.
We are working in partnership with labor unions and legislators on solutions that rebuild the pipeline of health care workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the broken model of health care financing. That’s why in the Legislature for the next two years we will support fully funding Medicaid and other programs to ensure access to care and bring financial stability to our hospitals.
Every day, bureaucratic inefficiencies and staffing shortages mean that hundreds of patients wait to be discharged to a more appropriate care setting. We are committed to promoting collaboration between state agencies and stakeholders to reduce discharge barriers and alleviate staffing shortages in post-acute settings.
In order for health care workers to care for their communities no matter the circumstances, hospitals must be adaptable. We are working to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation on our hospitals so they can direct resources to patient care.
This is a defining moment for health care in Oregon.
Hospitals are on the brink of failure, patients are struggling to access care, and federal changes will disrupt Oregon’s Medicaid program.
The federal changes ahead will further destabilize a financially fragile health care system, highlighting the importance of acting swiftly. Oregonians need policies that support hospitals so they can continue to care for patients, employ frontline workers, and support the Oregon economy.
In the 2026 legislative session, the hospital association’s priorities were:
During the 83rd Oregon Legislative Assembly, lawmakers navigated a fast-paced session shaped by long-term budget uncertainty, debates over the state’s response to a variety of federal policies, and political maneuvering over the referendum vote on a transportation funding package. The Hospital Association of Oregon engaged on a significant number of the more than 300 bills introduced, advocating for the passage of legislation that supports Oregon hospitals and the patients they serve.
In a challenging environment, the Hospital Association of Oregon secured wins on key priorities aiming to strengthen Oregon’s health care system and support hospitals in caring for their communities.
The Hospital Association of Oregon’s federal public policy agenda is designed to bolster our members’ efforts to provide Oregonians with the highest quality care. With our active involvement, members have a voice in the federal policymaking process.
Advocating for better health care policy is a team sport, and we need your help. That’s why we’ve built a coalition committed to improving health care delivery in Oregon.
Protected access to health care for patients and communities.
With H.R.1-related cuts looming, the Oregon Health Authority proposed cutting funding for the Disproportionate Share
Hospital program, graduate medical education, and Medicaid benefits that help patients recover after hospitalization. Through the legislative process, the hospital association successfully fought to preserve these programs, which also draw millions in federal matching resources at a time when patients, communities, and hospitals most need them.
Protected the integrity of Oregon’s presumptive eligibility law.
The hospital association worked with legislative leadership and partners to advocate for the passage of HB 4040, which preserves patients’ access to hospital financial assistance while providing needed implementation relief to hospitals. The bill increases the presumptive eligibility screening threshold to $1,500 for a single hospital encounter from $500. The law passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Worked to fix the hospital staffing law.
The Oregon Health Authority has made implementation of
the hospital staffing law more difficult than it needs to be
for hospitals and health care workers. HB 4074 would have
returned to the 2023 bill as the coalition originally intended,
paused penalties to allow time for OHA to enforce the law as
the coalition intended, and made reasonable improvements to support all rural hospitals. While the bill did not pass, legislators have committed to continuing the conversation about how to address challenges with the hospital staffing law in the interim. We thank our members for their engagement
this session to raise the challenges with the law and the work ahead.
We all feel the impacts of health care policy decisions made both in Salem and Washington, D.C., and it is our mission to educate legislators and policymakers on the full range of consequences of their proposed legislation. When legislators are grounded in the hospital perspective, they will have a more comprehensive understanding of how their decisions will affect our patients, staff and communities.
The hospital association helps our members speak with a collective voice on important policy matters, and your participation is vital to that effort.
Our federal policy agenda guides the hospital association in addressing the challenges hospitals face as they seek to fulfill their missions of serving the health needs of their communities. It is aligned with the American Hospital Association’s policy agenda and is based on principles that have guided the hospital association’s public policy development for several years. These principles are:
We are proud to advocate for federal policies that support hospitals so they can support Oregonians.