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Oregon Health Authority

Temporary Health Care Staff Rate Setting Program

Current Work

From January through April 2024, OHA conducted an environmental scan to inform the development of the maximum reimbursement rates for temporary health care staff. This included compiling national data on similar legislation, issuing a data request to facilities and agencies in Oregon, and analyzing the data in the House Bill 2665 Environmental Scan Report
To learn more, read frequently asked questions related to the report.

See Maximum Rate Methodology Summary as well as the Rate Development Process for a deep dive into the 2025 Maximum Rate development.

HB2665 Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) Development Timeline Updates

Aug. 26, 2024 – Sept. 13, 2024

Rules Advisory Committees (RACs)
On September 10th, the program team completed our last Rules Advisory Committee meeting. We scheduled committees with three separate groups of impacted parties, in order to elevate equity and provide an opportunity for all voices to be heard. These groups were: Temporary Staffing Agencies, Hospitals and Facilities (including associated organizations), and impacted Workforce members. We invited impacted parties to both an initial committee meeting/session to review and give input, and a second follow-up meeting to review incorporated feedback. We also offered feedback options in writing following the initial committee meetings as an additional option for providing feedback.

Oct. 1, 2024 – Oct. 21, 2024 5:00 PM PST

HB 2665 Public Comment Period for proposed Oregon Administrative Rules
The announcement for this can be found in the SOS bulletin on or after the 10/1/2024 start date. If you do not receive these bulletins, they can be found on the SOS website along with additional information about the OAR process.

Oct. 15, 2024 1:05 PM – 1:55 PM PST

HB 2665 Oregon Administrative Rules Hearing
As part of the public comment period, a hearing will be held at the above listed date and time. Additional information on the hearing can be found in the SOS website link provided above.

December 2024 (date TBD) 

HB 2665 OAR finalized rules published in Secretary of State (SOS) Rule Database
After the Public Comment period and hearing as well as the legislators' review period, all feedback will be considered and final 2024 updates will be made to the draft rules. Rules will complete final internal OHA reviews before submission and publishing to the SOS Database.

Meetings

  • August 1 HB 2665 Rate Setting Webinar recording Reviews the methodology used to create the temporary health care staff rates, as well as the rates that resulted from this process.
  • August 2 HB 2665 Informational Webinar Program Development recording Provides an overview of the Temporary Health Care Staff Rate Setting Program creation and development.
  • Webinar slides Slide deck that includes the slides from both the August 1st Rate Setting and August 2nd Program Development webinars.
  • The Rule Advisory Committee process has concluded for 2024. A rule mark-up has been developed to illustrate the input received from a diverse group of impacted parties. View the updated draft rules which contain the incorporated feedback here.
    • The next step in the rulemaking process includes publishing the proposed rules in the Secretary of State bulletin. Once published (anticipated October 1, 2024), there will be a public comment period for three weeks, including a public hearing. The public comment period and public hearing will be the next opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed rules.
OHA will provide updates on this page as they become available.

Background

House Bill (HB) 2665 (2023) is the latest response to increases in the use of temporary staffing in health care due to the COVID-19 pandemic, workforce shortage crisis and other factors. Senate Bill 1549 (2022) – which preceded HB 2665 – required Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to:
  • Issue temporary staffing agency licenses to qualified applicants.
  • Adopt rules to regulate temporary staffing agencies.
  • Report to the legislature on how a temporary staffing rate-setting process that prioritizes compensation, quality care outcomes for consumers and fiscal viability of care providers could work in Oregon.

New Rules and Maximum Wage Rates to Take Effect Jan. 1, 2025

As a continuation of this work, HB 2665 (2023) directs OHA to set the maximum reimbursement rates for temporary health care staff who provide direct care as defined by the bill in Section 3(2)(a)(b):
A registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified medical assistant, certified nursing assistant or direct caregiver who provides health care services or assistance with activities of daily living to clients, patients or residents for or on behalf of an in-home care agency as defined in ORS 443.305, a facility with a memory care endorsement as described in ORS 443.886, a residential care facility as defined in ORS 443.400 or a skilled nursing facility as defined in ORS 442.015 that engages the temporary staffing agency with which the registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified medical assistant, certified nursing assistant or direct caregiver is associated; or
(b) A registered nurse or certified nursing assistant who provides health care services to patients for or on behalf of a hospital that engages the temporary staffing agency with which the registered nurse or certified nursing assistant is associated.
HB 2665 requires implementation of the following work by January 2025:
  • Rules to set the maximum rates for temporary staff outlined below.
  • An exception process for temporary staffing agencies and entities that use temporary staff. They can use this process to ask OHA to waive the maximum rate limits.
  • Processes for complaints, investigations and civil penalties through OHA’s Health Licensing Office.
  • Annual review of the maximum rates.      

Who Is Affected by the New Rules and Rates?

These changes will affect temporary staff working at specific facilities and hospitals in the following roles:
  • Registered nurse
  • Licensed practical nurse
  • Certified medical assistant
  • Certified nursing assistant
  • Direct caregiver

Contact Us

For questions or additional information, please contact: