Salem Health leaders are among a group of Oregon hospital executives asking the Legislature to put more money toward the Oregon Health Plan, saying they otherwise won’t be able to keep up with rising costs of providing medical care.Salem Health CEO Cheryl Wolfe was among the speakers at a Wednesday press conference about legislative priorities for The Hospital Association of Oregon, which represents 61 hospitals in the state.The group is asking legislators to fully fund Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program, and increase hospital reimbursements for maternity care, said Becky Hultberg, the association’s president.  Hospital executives said current reimbursement rates from the Oregon Health Plan are too low to cover patient care. They are advocating for the continuation of taxes on some health care services that help pay for the state’s share of Medicaid coverage.During the meeting, Wolfe shared her perspective as the operator of the busiest emergency department in the state and the only hospital serving Oregon’s capital. She said over 1 in 4 of the hospital’s patients is insured through the Oregon Health Plan. Wolfe said private pediatric practices have reduced their acceptance of new Oregon Health Plan members due to low reimbursement rates, while Salem Health has increased their pediatric team to meet the need. “It is time to increase payments to hospitals serving Oregon Health Plan members. At its core, funding (Oregon Health Plan) and increasing reimbursement is about protecting access to care for Oregonians. Our community depends on Salem Health for most critical health services, maternity and kids’ services,” Wolfe said.She said over 3,000 babies were born in Salem Hospital’s birth center last year, and 500 babies were put in the neonatal intensive care unit.She said Oregon Health Plan reimburses about 60% of what it costs to provide maternity care. In the 2023 fiscal year, that was a difference of over $66 million dollars.“Providers have, for years, found ways to make up for reimbursement shortfalls. But this patchwork approach is not sustainable,” Wolfe said. Hospitals generally charge higher rates to commercial insurers to care for patients as a way to make up shortfalls from government funded programs. Those rates have become a public sticking point in negotiations between Salem Health and Regence, leading to Regence declaring Salem Health would be out-of-network for members after a previous contract expired on Dec. 31. Salem Health leaders were seeking a 35% increase in what Regence pays it to care for members.  Hultberg said the hospital system’s requests are in line with Gov. Tina Kotek’s proposed budget which includes $35 million to boost what hospitals are paid for maternity care, and another $25 million to reimburse hospitals that care for a large share of people insured through government programs. “From a budget perspective, for us, that gets us closer to sustainability. It certainly does not get us the entire way, and so I want to be transparent about that. We’re going to have to have a multi-year conversation about hospital sustainability,” Hultberg said.When asked about the hospitals’ ability to pay using profit from large investment portfolios, including at Salem Health, Hultberg said it’s not sustainable to rely on those funds.Salem Health had $1.01 billion in revenue in 2023, and $1.08 billion in expenses, with nearly a billion dollars in assets, according to the nonprofit’s most recent tax return.“Hospitals hold large reserves because they are large organizations with significant cash flow. Those reserves are important for times when there are disruptions, like we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic. Those reserves are then necessary in order to maintain operations,” Hultberg said. Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Salem Health leader says Oregon needs to pay hospitals more for labor, delivery appeared first on Salem Reporter.