VOTE: NO – Governor Signed
Status (overview) of bill:https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Measures/Overview/SB419
Establishes a Hospital Rate Commission providing Oregon Health Authority power to approve charges charged by individual hospitals and authority to impose civil penalties on hospitals that they deem unreasonable
Personal Choice and Responsibility
This bill infringes upon the individual hospitals giving the Oregon Health Authority fiscal choice over the hospitals.
Fiscal Responsibility
There is a question of Fiscal Responsibility in this bill in as much as all monies received from civil penalties are deposited in the Health Authority budget and could encourage excessive penalties.
Limited Government
Rate controls such as this have been attempted numerous times in the past both in Oregon and throughout the nation and have failed each time. The past experienc3es have demonstrated that the attempt of government to control individual hospital prices is not practicable.
Local Control
This bill imposes on the local conditions experienced by individual institutions and their ability to establish charges that provide their ability to continue to serve their local service district. Salem does not know better the conditions in each of the individual hospital markets in the state.
Free Markets
This bill interferes with the concept of the free market and assumes that the Oregon Health Authority is better qualified to manage the individual hospital that those managing the hospital and having the local knowledge of what is necessary to maintain viability.
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