Last Friday, Oregon’s 2026 short session wrapped up with an anticipated last-minute flurry. While the primary focus was addressing revenue shortfalls and budget pressures, the Legislature also advanced several high‑profile policy bills, including a number focused on health care.
Health care budget and policy bills
This session included a number of health care-related budget and policy bills, including:
- Protection of key budget wins – health care organizations were able to successfully fight to avoid tens of millions of dollars in cuts to the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program, graduate medical education, post-discharge support and maternity care.
- Protecting the integrity of presumptive eligibility law (HB 4040) – following significant implementation challenges for health care systems, the presumptive eligibility screening threshold was increased from $500 to $1,500 – a change that received bipartisan support.
- Federal response legislation (SB 1570) – the Legislature made it a priority to pass legislation relating to federal immigration activities, including provisions affecting hospitals and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). This bill places certain requirements on hospitals regarding their interactions with law enforcement and the treatment of citizenship and immigration data as protected information.
- Staffing law fixes (HB 4074) – while it ultimately did not pass, a coalition of hospitals, including Asante, and the Hospital Association of Oregon provided strong support for House Bill 4074, which would have returned the 2023 changes to the hospital staffing law to their original intent.
As we’ve written previously, Oregon’s hospital staffing law is broken and has led to erratic decision-making, unfair penalties by Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and a substantial financial and administrative burden for employers. These impacts divert resources away from patient care, and we will continue to advocate for common sense amendments to the law that align with the coalition’s original intent.
Other health care bills
- Rural emergency hospital (HB 4047) – the Legislature passed a bill that will require OHA to create a license designation for Rural Emergency Hospitals, a framework already in place under federal law.
- Mandatory arbitration (SB 1529) – the Legislature did not pass a bill this session that would require hospitals and insurers to enter into binding arbitration if they could not agree on contract renewal. While well-intended, this concept would put health care providers at a significant disadvantage in an already challenging contracting environment. Asante has first-hand experience with a Medicare Advantage plan (ATRIO) failing to pay almost $60 million dollars.
Other notable bills
Beyond health care, this session saw several high-profile budget and policy bills brought forward. Several of the most notable, and often the most contentious, included the following:
- Moving the gas tax vote (SB 1599) – after passing the House on March 2, Governor Kotek signed a bill moving the gas tax vote from November to May. This controversial measure would allow incumbent politicians to avoid holding the vote at the same time as what is widely viewed as a likely failed measure and prompted a near-immediate lawsuit. A Marion County judge ruled on March 11 that the referendum would stay on the May ballot, pending any appeal.
- Decoupling from federal tax code (SB 1507) – a significant contributor to the projected budget deficit stemmed from changes to the federal tax code in late 2025, to which Oregon’s tax code is linked, that reduced the amount the state expects to collect from taxpayers. In response, lawmakers voted to decouple from several federal tax provisions, most notably the Qualified Business Stock Exemption and bonus depreciation deductions. While these decisions helped avert more difficult budget reductions in the short term, they will likely reinforce perceptions that Oregon’s tax and economic policies are increasingly unfriendly to businesses.
- Delay in campaign finance reform (HB 4018) – fixes to a recent campaign finance reform were made, with spending limits going into effect in 2027 and the state’s new system for monitoring campaign contributions delayed until 2032.
- Recreational waivers (SB 1517) – the Legislature reinstated the enforceability of liability waivers for recreational activities in an effort to prevent the collapse of Oregon’s outdoor recreation industry.
