Four Oregon health systems are asking a judge to reconsider their lawsuit alleging the state's inadequate mental health system has overwhelmed them with psychiatric patients, according to a Dec. 8 report from The Lund Report.
Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health; Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth; Bend, Ore.-based St. Charles Health and Renton, Wash.-based Providence filed a challenge in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Dec. 4.
The four systems filed the original case in September 2022, alleging the Oregon Health Authority had violated patients' rights by failing to provide adequate treatment options. The health systems are providing long-term care to civilly committed patients in facilities only designed to accommodate short-term stays, they alleged.
A judge decided against the health systems in June, ruling they did not have the authority to bring claims on behalf of civilly committed patients.