Highlighting Oregon's Healthcare System

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, after 35 years PeaceHealth Hospital, the only level 2 trauma center between Corvallis, Oregon and Crescent City, California, abruptly ended its contract without the local emergency room staffing and the group of Eugene Emergency Physicians.

With little notice and significant local opposition, PeaceHealth has awarded the contract to a Georgia based management and medical staffing firm. Beyond losing locally based physicians who have met or exceeded performance standards in a hospital that has refused to address the lack of adequate patient care rooms, Apollo group appears to be a shell company set up to get around Oregon's ban against corporate practices in medicine law.

Apollo group bills itself as ``physician owned'', however their office houses around 40 ``local'' groups in Atlanta which is also housed in the same office as Valor Bridge, a venture capital fund managed by the same person who manages the Apollo staffing firm. When my office asked PeaceHealth CEO Jim McGovern about this obvious conflict he said--and I quote--``that's just a side hustle. A side hustle.''

Allowing venture capital firms and hedge funds to siphon off money from our healthcare systems instead of providing quality, affordable and appropriate care to our communities is what's wrong with our healthcare system. We need to follow Oregon's lead and make this practice illegal. And I assure you, we will fight to keep local providers caring for our community.

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