Oregon Health Authority

When someone accused of a crime is found unable to aid and assist in their own defense, they are sent to the Oregon State Hospital for an evaluation. After that, they often need to spend time at a residential treatment center until they are fit to stand trial. A new rule from the Oregon Health Authority requires residential treatment facilities in the state to accept those patients ahead of any who might be on their waiting list, setting aside their normal admissions standards. Attorneys for the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health and six residential treatment providers filed a petition with the Oregon Court of Appeals to block that rule. We hear from Heather Jefferis, executive director of the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health, about the challenges faced by behavioral health providers in Oregon.

The state has wrestled for years with ordering civil commitments for people with severe mental illness. Here’s what you need to know.

The Oregon Health Authority said the Trump administration has canceled roughly $117 million in COVID-era grants.

Advocates are concerned that a new Oregon Health Authority rule will substitute one civil rights violation for another.

Stanford University’s School of Medicine recently named Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi to a part-time position on its faculty, meaning she’ll see patients in California one weekend a month while, during the week, overseeing the 5,000-employee Oregon agency’s operations at a challenging time.

Rep. Tawna Sanchez has introduced HB 3198, a bill proposing the Oregon Health Authority’s involvement in responding to missing and murdered Indigenous people cases to improve coordination and support for affected communities.

Oregon has been trying to reign in health care spending for years. In 2019, lawmakers created the Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target Program to study and limit health care costs.

Oregonians’ health care could face more change than most states under the new federal administration, and Dr. Sejal Hathi, director of the state health authority, said officials are preparing to respond quickly as things happen.

Oregon health officials said the individual is connected to a poultry operation in Clackamas County where the Oregon Department of Agriculture previously confirmed the virus in 150,000 birds.

Washington and Clackamas counties say the Oregon Health Authority didn't follow appropriate rules when deciding how to dole out funding.