Health districts currently must comply with the same multi-step budget provisions that apply to other districts and local governments. Health districts, however, are different than these other public entities. Health districts rely on private rather than public funding for most of their revenue. The budgeting process required of health districts should reflect this difference but currently does not. Oregon's budgeting process for health districts should be revised in a manner similar to Washington's health district budget law to reflect the difference between health districts and other public entities.
Hospitals already face a daunting task preparing and submitting documentation currently required.
Many rural hospitals are sufficiently aged that they require significant modernization or total replacement. Unfortunately, most of these hospitals do not have the resources to engage in this kind of capital improvement. As providers of healthcare, hospitals and health systems are often the focus of efforts to improve the public health or achieve some other beneficial end. Unfortunately, these efforts often require hospitals and health systems to provide services without commensurate compensation. For example, the 1999 Legislative Assembly required certain hospitals to provide hearing tests for all newborns.