Oregon House health committee hears wide-ranging LC 241 omnibus bill; parent-paid caregiver proposal draws intense scrutiny

The House Interim Committee on Health Care on Jan. 14 introduced three legislative concepts as committee bills and spent the afternoon hearing testimony on LC 241, a broad omnibus health-care measure that staffs and advocates said includes roughly 20 discrete provisions affecting long-term care, Medicaid policy and insurance administration.

Committee members formally moved to introduce LC 188 (dated 12/15/2025), LC 194 (01/08/2026) and LC 241 (01/06/2026) as committee bills; the chair called the roll and the committee adopted the concepts to be introduced as committee bills. The motion and adoption make the concepts eligible for formal amendment and debate during the 2026 legislative session but do not bind members to their final votes on the measures.

Testimony on LC 241 covered multiple sections. Sean Comer of the Hospital Association of Oregon described Section 1 as a targeted fix to unintended implementation challenges from Oregon’s presumptive eligibility and hospital financial assistance policies; he said the section would prioritize staff screening but would not change who is eligible for assistance or Medicaid presumptive eligibility. Catherine Morrison of the Oregon Association for Home Care urged removing Medicare Conditions of Participation (COPs) requirements from private-duty nursing (PDN) providers, arguing COPs impose reporting burdens designed for older Medicare home-health…