BIG HOSPITAL EXECS SHOULD ANSWER FOR THEIR ACTIONS
Oregon hospitals are supposed to help people. Instead, many exploit the federal 340B program to help themselves.
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Why are Oregon hospitals receiving 340B discounts while providing a level of charity care less than the national average?
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If the 340B program is meant to help low-income patients, why aren’t you passing those savings directly to them at the pharmacy counter?
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Do you engage debt collectors or legal action against patients who should have qualified for free or discounted care under 340B? How many of these patients are later found eligible for financial assistance?
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As a hospital executive, what is your total annual compensation?
OREGON LAWMAKERS: STOP 340B ABUSE.
OREGON FAMILIES GO BROKE. BIG HOSPITAL CEOS GET RICH.
Many tax-exempt hospitals provide far less charity care than expected.
The average charity care rate at Oregon hospitals is 1.78%, far below the 2.28% national average.
In fact, operating expenses at one major Oregon health system totals $2.5 billion. But their charity care rate is just 1.52%.
Meanwhile, hospital profits keep flowing – to the top.
One Oregon hospital CEO took home more than
$14 million in annual salary.
The Oregon Nurses Association president put it plainly: “When executive bonuses and shareholder dividends take precedence over staffing, resources, and fair wages, it’s the patients who suffer and workers who bear the burden.”
Oregon workers, families, and taxpayers pay the price.
A report found that many Oregon nonprofit hospitals are sending low-income patients to collections in lieu of offering financial assistance as required by law.
One Oregon hospital was exposed for paying a national consulting firm to train hospital staff how to wring money out of sick people, even patients who qualified for free care.
The Oregon Department of Justice is conducting an ongoing consumer protection investigation into alleged illegal billing by one of the state’s top 340B hospitals.
5,000 Oregon nurses recently went on strike and demanded fair wages and safe working conditions – even as the hospital continued to profit off 340B. This was the first physician strike in state history.
A patient sued a local hospital system in Bend, claiming it violated Oregon law by failing to screen her for required charity care before sending her $3,400 medical bill - and $1,200 in added fees - to collections.
In 2023 alone, 340B cost Oregon employers an estimated $130.6 million and taxpayers an estimated $19.9 million.
THIS IS A TIME TO HOLD BIG HOSPITALS ACCOUNTABLE, NOT REWARD THEM.