Lawmakers' health care priorities for Oregon’s 2024 Legislative Session
Lawmakers' healthcare priorities for the 35-day legislative session that begins Monday include how to increase behavioral health treatment beds and community services and hospital workplace violence prevention and capacity challenges.
Legislation prioritizing Oregon’s behavioral health crisis
House Behavioral Health and Health Care Bill 4011 would require the Oregon Health Authority to provide incentives to increase recruitment and retention of the behavioral health workforce.
House Bill 4071 sponsored by Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, would allow immediate, temporary licensing for experienced health care professionals moving to Oregon from other states.
“We spend a lot of time in this committee talking about the health care workforce shortages, and this bill, in a small way, would start doing something about it,” Diehl said.
The process of getting licensed can take weeks to months before an individual moving to Oregon can start practicing in the state. This bill would eliminate those long wait times.
House Bill 4092 sponsored by Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, would require the Oregon Health Authority to analyze and allocate funding for community mental health programs. The bill also would establish a task force to study ways to decrease administrative procedural burdens for state-established community programs.
“We cannot alleviate the crisis we are experiencing in our counties, our communities and our cities if we don’t know how much it costs to do a good job,” Nosse said.
Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, is sponsoring House Bill 4139 that would eliminate state regulations requiring Oregon Health Authority approval when health care facilities intend to add new facilities, services or beds.
Elmer’s bill would eliminate regulations, for certain health care facilities, including inpatient psychiatric, chemical dependency and rehabilitation facilities, allowing those to more quickly increase behavioral health treatment beds statewide.
“You’re pinpointing the exact needs. That’s all we hear about in this committee is bed capacity,” Rep. Christine Goodwin, R-Canyonville, said during a meeting in advance of the session.
Nosse said the bill might be difficult to address in the short session, but it is a good idea he wanted to continue discussing.
“I think you’re on to something,” he said.
Multiple bills to address access to medication and treatment
Senate Bill 1506, from the Senate Health Care Committee, would allow pharmacists to test and provide medication treatment for COVID-19 to decrease the burden on primary and urgent care clinics and increase access to treatment.
The House Behavioral Health and Health Care committee also heard legislative concepts involving increasing access to care in underserved and rural areas and making medication more accessible and affordable.
House Bill 4081 sponsored by Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, would modernize emergency medical services (EMS) by establishing a statewide EMS network, improve data systems and coordinate statewide and regional plans.
The bill is aimed at providing consistent care and EMS standards to increase access to emergency care in rural areas of Oregon.
“The system is under strain, and it needs help,” Grayber said.
House Bill 4136 sponsored by Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-North Eugene, would increase access to same day, emergency care in Springfield and Eugene following the PeaceHealth emergency department closure in December 2023.
The bill would allocate $4.5 million to increase staffing, establish a 24/7 call line and a mobile nurse clinic.
A second bill introduced by Nathanson, House Bill 4149, would place further regulations and require more transparency from Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). PBMs influence the pharmaceutical industry and can impact which drugs are covered by insurance and where prescriptions can be filled.
An August Secretary of State audit found the lack of transparency required of PBMs caused barriers to medication access and misused taxpayer dollars.
Nathanson had said she would ensure PBMs regulation would be prioritized in the 2024 short session.
Legislation to improve safety of the health care workforce
Rep. Travis Nelson, D-Portland, introduced House Bill 4088, which would make assault of a health care worker a felony instead of a misdemeanor. The bill would exclude conviction of individuals who, at the time of the offense, were experiencing severe mental illnesses or traumatic brain injuries.
“We have seen an uptick in assaults against health care workers in recent years as trust and respect of health care workers has eroded,” Nelson said.
The bill also would require every hospital to post signage detailing safety standards and assault reporting procedures.
Nelson acknowledged the legislation would not necessarily prevent assaults from happening, but it would allow law enforcement to take action in response to an assault.
He said many nurses have felt their complaints of assault on the job have not been taken seriously.
Legislation to help address Oregon State Hospital capacity challenges
Oregon State Hospital has been facing capacity challenges since 2019. In September 2022, a federal judge required the hospital to comply with a 2002 court order to expedite commitment of defendants spending lengthy wait times in jail before being admitted to the state hospital.
Senate Bill 1507 from the Senate Health Care Committee would require the Oregon Health Authority to “take all steps possible” to help the state hospital address capacity challenges.
The bill serves as a placeholder as the Joint Task Force on Hospital Discharge Challenges also works to find solutions.
House Bill 4010, a House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee bill, also aims to address challenges faced by the psychiatric hospitals in Junction City and Salem. It would exempt the state hospitals from staffing requirements outlined in House Bill 2697, which took effect last year.
The 2023 bill required all hospitals to establish a hospital service staffing committee. HB 4010 would allow exemption for Oregon State Hospital, allowing it to focus on current staffing challenges.
Sydney Wyatt covers healthcare inequities in the Mid-Willamette Valley for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions, and tips to her at SWyatt@gannett.com, (503) 399-6613, or on Twitter @sydney_elise44
The Statesman Journal’s coverage of healthcare inequities is funded in part by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which seeks to strengthen the cultural, social, educational, and spiritual base of the Pacific Northwest through capacity-building investments in the nonprofit sector.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon lawmakers' health care priorities for 2024 session
