Week Three Takeaways

Date: October 24, 2024

It’s been one month since OHSU filed a proposed transaction with the Health Care Market Oversight (HCMO) Program to acquire Legacy Health. You can follow the progress of the filing, including reading public comments submitted to date, on the HCMO OHSU-Legacy page. On behalf of the Unrepresented Employees, remaining anonymous, we plan to submit a public comment and will let this group know when it is posted. 

The root of our concern with the transaction, the largest in our State’s history, is that OHSU is amassing too much power and is unresponsive to its most valuable resource - its people. Because they are a public employer reporting to the State of Oregon, we have access to review all information made available. We also have a responsibility as community members to question critical assumptions and decisions.

The HCMO filing states, “this transaction is warranted in large part because OHSU is a public entity with principles of ‘public accountability and fundamental public policy’” (page 11). Given their status as a public university health system, it is unclear how Board members are held accountable when OHSU’s state designation by Oregon law can be used to justify any decision. 

Without following the story of this pending acquisition, watching the OHSU Board meetings alone shows the difficulty OHSU leaders have responding to concerns brought forward by their people. Unresolved dialogue between Board members and others is repeatedly covered by media outlets. The observable behavior in these meetings is not dissimilar to OHSU’s actions toward Legacy, and yet the proposed effective date of the transaction is five months away.

The combined entity will create the largest employer in the Portland metro area. OHSU initially agreed to equitable protections for all employees in the System Combination Agreement, and this no longer true due to their agreement with Labor Partners (HCMO Notice Question 13 - Exhibit 1). If you are concerned about your future as an employee, please take a moment to submit a public comment. If you would like your comment to be kept confidential, you can make that request in the comment box.