Patient care is being put at risk by low pay from insurance carriers, onerous Oregon regulation and high costs, according to a report by the Hospital Association of Oregon. 

With almost half the 61 hospitals in Oregon operating at a loss or barely breaking even, patient care is affected by long wait times, a shortage of doctors  and overcrowded emergency departments, according to the association report. 

“Oregon’s hospitals are on the brink,” said Becky Hultberg, Hospital Association of Oregon’s president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “They face a perfect storm of soaring expenses, complex and costly regulations and payments that don’t cover the cost of care.”

The biggest issue is that Medicaid, which is the state’s largest insurer, only pays 56 cents on the dollar for caring for Medicaid patients. One in three people in Oregon — 31.9% of insured patients — are on Medicaid, according to the report.

 Between 2022 and 2024, Oregon hospitals lost $152 million on patient care, according to the report. 

If a hospital is not making money, it puts the community at risk, according to the association. Hospitals generate $32.4 billion a year in economic impact, supporting 160,000 jobs.

In Central Oregon, the four hospitals and clinics that make up St. Charles Health System employ more than 5,000 people. The health system is the region’s largest employer, according to an Economic Development for Central Oregon annual employer ranking. 

St. Charles ended 2024 with $1.4 billion in operating revenues, slightly more than the previous year. Expenses were higher, however, in 2024, leaving the health system with less in operating income.