CPC Health Ministry Team

On March 13, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) approved the merger of the Corvallis Clinic with Optum, a subsidiary of the United Health Group (UHG). 

• The approval occurred despite overwhelming public disproval. UHG has been sued and paid hefty fines many times for misconduct (see NYT October 8, 2022, Cash Monster). Testimony warned of the reputation of UHG/Optum and predictably increased costs and impaired health care

• Adding to the problem and perhaps even precipitating the emergency exemption for the merger, Change Health, another United Health Group subsidiary, last March, suffered a breach of medical records that negatively impacted the processing of over half of all medical claims in the United States.

• After Optum/UHG acquired the Oregon Medical Group (OMG) in Eugene two years ago 32 doctors left OMG within a year. Because of non-disclosure agreements contingent to employment, we cannot know why they left, but the numbers may speak for themselves. Optums’ reported behavior is to reduce ancillary staff, increase the panel of patients per doctor, and drop costly services,  patients, and providers. Such behavior makes sense only if you consider health care a business rather than a vital service. Health care as a business causes people to suffer and die.

• Many Oregonians and legislators from both parties support bills to strengthen existing laws against mergers/acquisitions like those favored by Optum/UHG and other megacorporations. Such a bill, HB 4130, received bipartisan support in the 2024 Oregon Legislature but was killed in a Senate committee by one state senator using a procedural maneuver at the end of the session. The bill will be strengthened and reintroduced in the 2025 session.

Conclusion:

Health care does not work well as a business. The Corvallis Clinic's many years of financial trouble is a testimony to this. Doctors are trying to heal and save lives with procedures and processes that are not necessarily profit-making. 

Most other developed countries don’t systematically punish their people as we do for being ill or injured. We are not consumers. We are patients.

What can we do to stop harmful mergers and protect providers and patients?

1. Learn what you can about the financial condition of the hospital and Clinic you depend on. Ask board members, doctors, nurses, and patients of these facilities. Had we known the Corvallis Clinic was in such dire straits a few years ago, we could have reached a local solution that excluded conglomerate interlopers known for egregious conduct. Forming a hospital district may have provided a solution.

2. Learn about alternatives to the corporate consumption and privatization of our health care, health, and wealth. 

   1. Search online for national, state, and regional organizations fighting for a guaranteed unified, simple, and affordable (USA) health plan. Health Care for All Oregon, Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates, HealthCareNow!, Be A Hero, Physicians for a National Health Program, and One Payer States. Other organizations that support a USA plan are Social Security Works, Public Citizen, and Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA).

   2. Read

      1. The Healing of America, by T.R. Reid

      2. Monopolized, by David Dayen

      3. The Privatization of Everything, by Donald Cohen

      4. Code Gray, by Farzon Nahvi. M.D.

      5. Code Blue, by Mike Magee M.D.

      6. Deadly Spin, by Wendell Potter, former Cigna executive

      7. Optum, buyer of Eugene's Oregon Medical Group, tells patients to seek care elsewhere as physicians leave.  Oregonian lead story, March 27, 2024.

3. Campaign for candidates who openly support a unified, simple, and affordable health plan for all American residents.

4. Persuade your U.S. Representative and Senators to legislate a unified, simple, and affordable health plan. Call (202) 224-3121.

   1. The (improved) Medicare for All Act of 2023-24 (S.1655) and (H.R. 3421).

   2. The State-Based Universal Health Care Act (H.R. 6270) as a route to a federal unified, simple, and affordable health plan for all Americans. 

5. Protect and strengthen the existing wonderful yet imperfect Medicare from further degradation. Follow this link: Letter to President Biden: Level the Playing Field - Google Forms.

6. Attend a town hall Tuesday, May 28, 7:00-8:30 p.m. online or in person at the Corvallis-Benton Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave. Speaker: Senator Deb Patterson, of Senate District 10 in Marion County, and Chair of the Senate Committee on Health Care. Topic: What Can the Oregon Legislature do in  2024-25 to improve health care for Oregonians.

7. Attend the annual meeting of Health Care for All Oregon on June 8, 2024. Where: First Congregational Church, 4525 SW West Hills Road, Corvallis. When: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in person and online. If online, tune in: 11:00 a.m. The keynote speaker will address Oregonians’ Beliefs About Health Care. The talk may begin as late as 11:30. At 1:00 p.m. a panel: Exploring Oregonians Beliefs. At 3:00 p.m. a panel: Halting the Hostile Takeover of Health Care