Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 442 § 442.310 — Findings and policy

Findings and policy. (1) The Legislative Assembly finds that the achievement of reasonable access to quality health care at a reasonable cost is a priority of the State of Oregon. (2) Problems preventing the priority in subsection (1) of this section from being attained include: (a) The inability of many citizens to pay for necessary health care, being covered neither by private insurance nor by publicly funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid; (b) Rising costs of medical care which exceed substantially the general rate of inflation; (c) Insufficient price competition in the delivery of health care services that would provide a greater cost consciousness among providers, payers and consumers; (d) Inadequate incentives for the use of less costly and more appropriate alternative levels of health care; (e) Insufficient or inappropriate use of existing capacity, duplicated services and failure to use less costly alternatives in meeting significant health needs; and (f) Insufficient primary and emergency medical care services in medically underserved areas of the state. (3) As a result of rising health care costs and the concern expressed by health care providers, health care users, third-party payers and the general public, there is an urgent need to abate these rising costs so as to place the cost of health care within reach of all Oregonians without affecting the quality of care. (4) To foster the cooperation of the separate industry forces, there is a need to compile and disseminate accurate and current data, including but not limited to price and utilization data, to meet the needs of the people of Oregon and improve the appropriate usage of health care services. (5) It is the purpose of this chapter to establish area-wide and state planning for health services, staff and facilities in light of the findings of subsection (1) of this section and in furtherance of health planning policies of this state. (6) It is further declared that hospital costs should be contained through improved competition between hospitals and improved competition between insurers and through financial incentives on behalf of providers, insurers and consumers to contain costs. As a safety net, it is the intent of the Legislative Assembly to monitor hospital performance. [Formerly 442.025]