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New Report: Patient Care At Risk As Oregon Hospitals’ Financial Crisis Deepens (Photo) - 07/29/26
A new report from the Hospital Association of Oregon finds that hospitals across the state experienced staggering losses in 2025, forcing them to make painful decisions: Service lines and inpatient beds have closed, while more than 1,000 health care workers have lost their jobs. The impacts of H.R.1 will deepen this crisis, underscoring the urgent need for policy solutions to support and stabilize Oregon hospitals.
The report, A fraying safety net: Oregon hospitals in crisis, reveals that in 2025 hospitals lost $450 million caring for patients due to rising labor costs, Medicaid and Medicare payments that don't cover the cost of care, bad insurer behavior, and costly state regulations.
“There isn’t a silver lining in these numbers,” said Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the Hospital Association of Oregon. “Oregon hospitals are slipping deeper into crisis. After five years of losses at many of our hospitals, the consequences are impossible to ignore. Communities are losing services, patients have fewer options for care, and more than 1,000 Oregonians have lost their jobs."
The challenges are statewide and widespread. In 2025, more than half of all hospitals in Oregon operated at a loss. This includes most of the state’s larger hospitals and more than 40% of the state’s smaller, often rural hospitals. As a result, more than 80% of the hospital beds in Oregon were at hospitals with unsustainable margins.
A convergence of factors is contributing to this crisis:
- Hospitals are being squeezed on both sides. Government payers (Medicare and Medicaid) use two-thirds of hospital services and don’t come close to covering the cost of care, while at the same time commercial health insurers delay and deny payment for services.
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The cost of operating a hospital in Oregon has increased 57.5% since 2020—driven by tariffs, supply shortages, pharmaceutical costs, labor costs, and regulatory changes.
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Oregon has layered on an increasingly complex and costly regulatory framework over the last decade, diverting resources from patient care and creating one of the most difficult operating environments in the country for hospitals.
Oregon hospitals are bracing themselves for further financial shocks as the impacts of H.R. 1 take hold. The state estimates that Oregon will receive $12 billion less in federal Medicaid funding and that 200,000 Oregonians could lose health coverage.
“As the crisis at Oregon’s hospitals grows, Oregonians will be increasingly challenged to access the health care services they need,” Hultberg said. “The time to act is now. Policymakers must understand the seriousness of this moment and take the necessary steps to safeguard the care that Oregonians depend on.”
The full report is available here.
**Media availability today from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.**
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Who: Becky Hultberg, president and CEO, Hospital Association of Oregon
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When: Wednesday, July 29 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Where: Virtual
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How: Contact Becca Thomsen at bthomsen@oregonhospitals.org or 713-213-8838 to schedule a time.
