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Bill to limit corporate investment in Oregon healthcare passes key committee

the top of the Oregon capitol building is visible through cherry blossoms on a tree in the foreground
Chris Lehman
/
KLCC
An undated photo of the Oregon Capitol.

A bill to sharply limit corporate decision making in clinics and ban most healthcare noncompete agreements in Oregon cleared a key legislative committee Thursday.

After Oregon Medical Group in Eugene was purchased by Optum, the largest employer of physicians in the U.S., many of its doctors quit, citing mandates that provided little benefit for patients.

The bill, SB 951, is supported by many physicians, as well as a few Eugene area lawmakers, who hope it will prevent future corporate takeovers.

It still faces pushback from some Republicans on the House Health Care Committee, including Linn County Rep. Ed Diehl, who said it needs serious changes.

People standing on the floor of the Oregon House with right hands raised.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff
/
OPB
Members of the Oregon House take an oath at the House Organizational Session on Jan. 9, 2023. Ben Bowman, right, is one of the chief sponsors of a bill that would limit corporate ownership of Oregon medical practices.

“We’re going to lose capital investment in the state and some good companies are going to be told they’re illegal,” Diehl said prior to voting against the bill in committee.

Some healthcare industry groups have also opposed the proposal – arguing it's unfair that hospitals would remain exempt from the bill’s requirements.

The bill, which has some bipartisan support, has already cleared the Senate and is now headed for a vote on the House floor.

The bill's chief sponsor is Tigard Democrat, Rep. Ben Bowman, who is also the House majority leader. Two Eugene Democrats, Rep. Nancy Nathanson and Rep. Lisa Fragala, have strongly supported the bill.

In a video posted to her Facebook page last week, Nathanson said Eugene’s situation, where doctors feared they might be sued for practicing in the city after they left their corporate employer, showed how harmful noncompete agreements can be for a community.

“We need to say to these big companies ‘you can’t do that,’” she said. “Healthcare shouldn’t be treated as a commodity, like a box of cereal, a car or a computer, it’s healthcare.”

Optum, which owns Oregon Medical Group, did agree to allow its former employees to practice in the Eugene area after meeting with Nathanson, and Eugene Sen. Floyd Prozanski.

Rebecca Hansen-White joined the KLCC News Department in November, 2023. Her journalism career has included stops at Spokane Public Radio, The Spokesman-Review, and The Columbia Basin Herald.
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