FAQs

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page provides clear answers to common questions. It brings together essential information in one place so you can quickly find factual information. Each section is organized by topic.

• May 4, 2026 CEO Update FAQ.
• Pediatric Outpatient Infusion FAQ.
• Ashland Community Hospital FAQ.
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) FAQ.
• Hospitalists FAQ.

May 4, 2026 CEO Update FAQ

Read CEO Update

Health care services 

Q: Much of this announcement seems focused on cost control and reductions. Are there plans to grow and improve access or clinical services, or is this only about shrinking?    
A: Yes. We are committed to strengthening our medical group’s influence and visibility, and growing key clinical services to address community need. As part of this, continuing to recruit physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants will help us continue meeting the health care needs of our region. We have 17 new physicians and mid-level providers joining Asante this summer and anticipate this will continue increasing.

Asante had a record recruitment year in 2025, and we need to keep recruiting to serve more people.

Q: Which specialties is Asante currently recruiting for?
A: We are currently recruiting for physicians, nurse practitioners and physician associates in the following areas:

Q: Will there be changes to Asante’s Emergency Departments and Immediate Care locations?
A: No. There are no plans to change these services. Our emergency care remains core to how we support our communities. All three campuses in Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass continue to operate full‑service Emergency Departments, and we also operate two Immediate Care locations in Medford and Grants Pass.

• Emergency Departments, open 24/7 
• Immediate Care, open every day, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Medford: 555 Black Oak Dr., Medford, OR 97504
  • Grants Pass: 537 Union Ave., Grants Pass, OR 97527

Q: Is Asante going to sell or close?
A: No. Our three campuses will remain open, and we are not selling or merging with anyone. We believe being locally led and governed is important to ensure decisions made about health care access in the valley are made close to home. In support of advancing access to safe high-quality care, one of our four strategic priorities is Financial Sustainability, ensuring we remain independent, prosperous and positioned for long‑term success. Since the mid‑1900s, we’ve taken pride in our tradition of being locally owned and governed. Preserving that legacy is central to our Mission. Achieving this requires us to make bold — and at times difficult — decisions so we can continue providing reliable access to care for our patients amid the significant challenges facing health care today at the local, state and federal levels. Not making changes like this would jeopardize long-term viability.

Q: You are eliminating inpatient services in Ashland – is Rogue Regional or Three Rivers next?
A: No. Elimination of acute inpatient services on those campuses is not planned at this time. We are focusing on all non-clinical areas for reductions, and it’s likely several clinical service areas will be reduced. Some services with multiple locations may be consolidated. We have an obligation to evaluate all services in all locations with an eye toward maintaining availability of core services in the region.

Q: Why are expenses outpacing revenue?
A: Simply put – we do not receive adequate reimbursement to cover our costs. Commercial insurance covers the cost of patient care; government programs like Medicare and Medicaid do not. We do not differentiate care based on the coverage of an individual patient, but as fewer people in the valley have commercial insurance and more rely on government programs (one in three Oregonians are on the state’s Medicaid program, the “Oregon Health Plan,” for example) we see expenses outpacing the growth in patient care reimbursement.

Q: Will any services be cut?
A: Some services will likely be impacted, but we hope to avoid mass service reductions. Over the coming months we will continue to work with our clinicians to evaluate patient services across our three campuses and many outpatient clinics. We are committed to preserving the core clinical services that comprise the safety net for southern Oregon.

Q: How is the organization ensuring continuity of care during the transition?
A: This work will be thoughtful and not needlessly rushed, but actions need to begin. Any clinical services impacted, just like in Ashland, will have prior notice and substantial lead time for communication to patients and employees.

Workforce

Q: Are there layoffs occurring?
A: Yes. Over the past six months, Asante’s expenses are greater than our revenue (and worsening in March), and no organization can survive and prosper that way. As it should be, we invest almost 70% of our collected revenue back into the salaries and benefits for our employees and community-based physicians. Our people are the power behind our patient care. However, we cannot ignore the size and magnitude of payroll for an organization of our size.

Our focus will be heavily on non-clinical roles, as it was over two years ago when we eliminated around 400 roles. However, more work needs to be done. We are fighting hard to keep resources directly serving our patients in our clinics and hospitals, but some clinical areas will be impacted. We anticipate this will impact 300 or more people in fiscal year 2026, which represents 5-6% of our workforce.

Q: Will individuals who are affected by layoffs have support from Asante?
A: Yes. We are committed to supporting impacted employees through this transition by providing severance and separation benefits, as well as outplacement support for those who qualify.

Q: Were alternatives to layoffs considered?
A: Yes. Our goal is always to find efficiencies elsewhere first. Unfortunately, in our current operating environment, we must find more efficiencies in how work is accomplished and minimize overhead expenses. Investments in our people comprise almost 70 cents of every dollar of revenue we collect.

Q: Is Asante also decreasing corporate and leadership roles?
A: Yes. Since 2023, corporate building staffing has been cut by 67%. This is justified in the interest of preserving patient care. In that same time period, leadership roles were reduced by 23% across the entire organization, and more needs to be done. It is likely we will close the corporate building permanently since most of the space is unoccupied and convert it to physician clinic space. Overhead must be bare-bones to keep as many resources as we can dedicated to patient care.

Q: How much money does this really save?
A: We estimate that, to break even in 2027, we need to identify $50 million or more in savings in 2026. And due to inflation and planned federal cuts to Medicaid, we will need to keep finding savings each year thereafter. This will be ongoing work.

Q: Is there a hiring freeze?
A: Yes, in some cases. We are pausing most non-clinical hiring. However, we will continue recruiting physicians and advanced practice providers, nurses and other clinical roles.

Q: What other measures, besides layoffs, are you implementing to cut costs?
A: There are many initiatives we are implementing, including but not limited to: Freezing most non-clinical job postings and new vendor contracts, evaluating and reducing services (i.e. cleaning, office supplies), consolidating leased and owned spaces, implementing new processes for insurance coding and billing, reducing technology equipment, review of supply utilization and cost per unit of supply and more.

Q: Will employees’ benefits change?
A: Too early to know. Asante offers some of the most comprehensive and supportive benefits of any large employer in southern Oregon. Even so, to be good stewards, every option should be evaluated and may not lead to changes in every circumstance. Any suggested changes to benefits will not be sudden and will be communicated and discussed well in advance.

Q: Why are layoffs occurring again after 2024? Did Asante hire again after those cuts?
A: No. We reduced approximately 400 roles in early 2024 and have maintained that lower staffing level, especially in business support areas. Even after hiring many more clinical roles and recruiting more physicians, we have remained leaner in overhead. But inflation of costs has continued in the healthcare industry, and the minor revenue increases from Medicare and Medicaid are too low. The regulatory burden in Oregon has worsened since then. As the operating environment worsens in the state and federal cuts loom, we must keep adapting to stay viable.

Headwinds

Q: How will the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credit loss impact patients?
A: Individuals above 400% of the Federal Poverty Level are among those most impacted because many no longer qualify for financial assistance that had previously reduced premium costs. This will have cascading effects on hospitals with an increase in uninsured patient populations. We are experiencing this in Oregon and southern Oregon. OHA estimated that more than 2,400 people in Jackson and Josephine Counties will lose these credits (source). In January, it was reported that Oregon experienced one of the largest enrollment drops in the nation (source). 

Q: Do Medicare and Medicaid cover the cost of delivering care?
A: No. In 2024, Medicare reimbursed hospitals just 83 cents on the dollar, according to national data from the American Hospital Association. At Asante, those rates are even lower — Medicare reimbursed at 79 cents on each dollar of our expense (i.e. 79 cents coming in for each dollar spent going out) and Medicaid was at 67 cents in fiscal year 2025. Medicare and Medicaid and other government-covered patients are ~75% of Asante’s patient population, and that percentage is growing.

Q: Who decides how much Medicare and Medicaid pay hospitals and doctors?
A: Medicare and Medicaid rates are set by the government, not by hospitals.

• Medicare rates are set by the federal government, specifically the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS uses national formulas to decide how much hospitals and clinics get paid for each service. These formulas rarely reflect the true cost of care in high‑cost or rural areas.
• Medicaid rates are set by each state, within federal guidelines. That means Oregon decides how much it will pay hospitals for Medicaid patients, and those rates are much lower than Medicare or commercial insurance.

Health care organizations cannot negotiate these rates the way they can with private insurance companies.

Q. What is presumptive charity?
A: Presumptive charity in Oregon is a legal requirement (HB 3320/HB 4040) for hospitals to screen patients for financial assistance, without their consent, before they receive a bill. Due to the shortcomings of the screening tools, this process initially resulted in a number of high-income individuals receiving charity care, as well as many complaints from members of the community due to the requirement that hospitals presumptively screen, regardless of consent or active participation in the process.

The existing screening tools are unreliable, forcing a manual process, and there is no OHA offset for an unfunded mandate.

Q: Are layoffs happening because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1)? Has Asante been preparing for this?
A: There are many contributing factors, including the OBBBA. There have been shifts in demographics in the local community that have impacted local health care. In addition, proposed cuts to Medicaid at the federal and state level are expected over the next several years. Even prior to the anticipated funding reductions in OBBBA, the regulatory burden on hospitals in the state of Oregon is untenable. Oregon hospitals are three-times more regulated than other hospitals in the country, adding unnecessary administrative costs without associated funding. As stewards of invaluable health care resources in the region, Asante aims to keep pace with these challenges and not wait to act. OBBBA funding cuts will be severe.

Q: Are other industries facing headwinds in Oregon?
A: Yes. Pressures today reflect very real shifts happening across Oregon’s business landscape, and health care is disproportionately at the mercy of these shifts. Oregon Business & Industry (OBI) has declared an economic state of emergency.

Read more:

• Oregon’s economic crossroads - AsanteIMPACT
• Health care’s economic influence deserves more attention - AsanteIMPACT

Q: What regulatory changes have contributed to this current state?
A: Non-profit health care organizations in Oregon face a dual burden of significant federal cuts, as well as a number of recent unfunded mandates from the Oregon State Legislature and Oregon Health Authority that have required health care systems to reexamine operations in order to remain independent and financially sustainable.

These following changes will impact Asante:

State

• Hospital Staffing Law – the 2023 Hospital Staffing Law has resulted in Asante incurring significantly increased administrative costs and fees, exacerbating the financial strain on hospitals. This will likely increase due to the penalties and the administrative burden of responding to investigatory demands by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). The law continues to carry a high financial cost to health care systems – without any offset from the legislature to account for lost operating revenue.
• Presumptive Charity Care – despite known implementation concerns, particularly around the efficacy of the available screening tools, the legislature passed a bill that now requires health care systems to implement presumptive financial screening for charity care.
  
  Due to the shortcomings of the screening tools, this process initially resulted in a number of high-income individuals receiving charity care, as well as many complaints from members of the community due to the requirement that hospitals presumptively screen, regardless of consent or active participation in the process.
• Labor shortages due to refusal to join Compact – Oregon is one of only eight states that is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which discourages out-of-state nurses from taking roles in Oregon by delaying licensure approvals, leading to a persistent labor shortage and increased labor costs.
• Health Care Market Oversight and corporate practice of medicine laws – Oregon has some of the most restrictive laws on the books that place significant limits on what types of transactions, and with whom, health care systems can engage. This acts to prevent many common ownership and financing structures that otherwise can provide lifelines to strained physician practices and other business owned by physicians. The HCMO process itself is unnecessarily invasive and complicated, and the State’s costs of the programs are paid directly by the organizations being reviewed. Other structures that could potentially have been explored have been ruled out due, in part, to these regulatory hurdles. In a recent example, the burdensome HCMO process prevented Asante from purchasing a struggling surgery center (Southern Center of Southern Oregon) after engaging in good faith in the process since August of 2025. It is regrettable and very disappointing that Oregon Health Authority withheld approval, with the end result being the closure of an important surgical access point for the residents of southern Oregon.
• Hospital licensing fees – despite significant financial pressures on health care systems, the Oregon legislature passed legislation increasing hospital licensing fees by 400% in 2025.
• Cost Growth Target – Oregon’s Cost Growth Target places unrealistic cost increase limits on health care organizations, while imposing administratively burdensome performance improvement plans and stiff financial penalties for failure to meet such goals, despite health care organizations having little-to-no control over the price of goods and labor. This law overlooks the economic realities of the industry and forces health care organizations to divert critical resources toward documenting and defending broad, industry-wide trends—resources that should be focused on patient care.

Federal

• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) particularly impacts the state of Oregon, as the state has chronically underfunded the Medicaid program. One in three Oregonians currently rely on Medicaid for health insurance coverage.
  • Reduction of Medicaid eligible patients will result in a substantial increase in uninsured patients and uncompensated care.
  • The OBBBA decreases federal matching funds that are used to fund Oregon’s Medicaid program.
• Continued impacts of Medicare sequestration.
• Reduction in Disproportionate Share Hospital payments, which are used to help cover the cost of treating vulnerable patients.
• Reduction of State Directed Payments through our CCOs.
• Expiration of ACA Tax Credits – the expiration of tax credits will lead to an increase in premiums and more uninsured patients.
• Tariff impacts on supply costs.
• Pharmaceutical impacts, through changes to 340B and overall cost specifically in cancer care.

Q: What can I do to help? Are there actions that make a difference?
A: Stay informed and be an advocate. Please continue referencing the FAQ page on our website for factual and updated information and share it with your colleagues, families and friends. Also, visit and bookmark AsanteIMPACT for weekly updates on important information about advocacy, policy, regulatory and economic impacts.

If you have an interest supporting our advocacy efforts, please email PublicAffairs@Asante.org. There may be ways that you can help as we try to gain the attention of our state and federal legislators. We need all of us to preserve the safety net for health care in southern Oregon.

Q. Does Medicare Advantage help cover the cost of delivering care?
A: No. Medicare Advantage plans pay at traditional Medicare rates, and Medicare does not cover the cost of health care. In addition, Medicare Advantage plans are often slower to pay their bills and more difficult to get reimbursed for our care.

Q: This seems to be a national problem. Is it worse in Oregon and in southern Oregon?
A: Yes. Oregon hospitals are three times more regulated than the U.S. median. In southern Oregon, we also have a challenging funding problem with most of our patient population being Medicare or Medicaid. Our commercial payer mix, meaning people who have health care coverage through their employers, is the lowest it’s ever been so far in 2026. Hospitals in the Portland area typically average twice the percentage of commercial insurance patients (over 30%) compared to southern Oregon/Asante (14-15%). Just a decade ago, it was at 20%. Because of a declining business economy in southern Oregon, combined with the impending cuts to Medicaid, Asante needs to take action to ensure the sustainability of local health care in the future.

We are honored to care for any patient regardless of insurance coverage. But the fact remains, this tilted payer mix places a disproportionate strain on the economic conditions for southern Oregon hospitals and physicians. Eastern Oregon has similar issues.

Q: Would having a single health care payer for all settle these challenges?
A: Without details and a specific proposal presented – and how it would be funded – this is not possible to answer.

Q: Are other health systems facing the same challenges?
A: Yes, especially in Oregon.

Q: What is the difference between Medicaid (OHP) and commercial insurance?
A: Medicaid is a government‑funded health insurance program. Oregon has expanded this program more significantly than other states; one in three Oregonians are currently on OHP. Commercial insurance is private coverage (i.e. what employees receive as a benefit through their employers) and covers more toward the cost of health care services.

The two differ in how much they cost and how they pay health care providers. At Asante, Medicaid currently covers 67 cents per dollar we spend to provide care, which clearly does not cover the cost of delivering care. Hospitals with a weak commercial payer base—such as rural or safety‑net hospitals—are at higher risk because they cannot generate enough commercial revenue to balance losses from Medicaid, Medicare and uninsured care. Hospitals with a strong commercial payer mix, like markets in Eugene, Salem and Portland, can maintain healthier margins even when government reimbursement falls short.

Q: Can Asante grow its commercial payer mix?
A: This is directly dependent on our state and local economy. When businesses reduce their size, leave the region or their employees retire, commercial payers decrease. As the largest employer and health care provider in the region, we are working hard to advocate for local businesses and legislation to support our economy.

Q: Why is Asante being penalized if it meets staffing ratios?
A: Asante unequivocally supports safe staffing and ratios, both philosophically and in practice. While the Hospital Staffing Law (HB 2697) set forth a framework for hospital staffing supported by a coalition of stakeholders, the implementation of that framework by Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has failed the shared vision. The implementation of the law has been tone-deaf to current realities in Oregon and over-reaching in its interpretation. It emphasizes complex procedural requirements that place disproportionate burdens on hospitals, without offering any clear benefit to patients. This is resulting in millions in unhelpful expenses and capricious penalties – dollars that will leave our community.

Q. What is Medicare proposing for an increase in 2027?
A: CMS has not yet released the proposed 2027 Medicare outpatient payment rates — those are expected in July. However, CMS did publish the proposed 2027 inpatient payment update in April, and it is only a 2.4% increase. This proposed adjustment is far below the actual inflation hospitals are experiencing for supplies, pharmaceuticals, labor and other essential operating costs, meaning Medicare reimbursement is not keeping pace with real inflationary pressures.

Q: If Asante had a positive margin for years before 2020, how can current losses be understood in today’s health care environment?
A: Past performance does not shield any hospital from today’s dramatically higher operating costs, post‑pandemic patient trends, reimbursement challenges or increasing regulatory and legislative burdens. The landscape has fundamentally changed since 2019. It has even worsened since 2025. 

Other topics

Q: What does safety-net hospital mean?
A: A safety‑net hospital treats patients regardless of insurance status, income or ability to pay. These hospitals maintain an open‑door policy, meaning they do not turn patients away due to financial barriers. Like Asante, they care for disproportionately high numbers of uninsured, Medicaid, Medicare and other vulnerable populations. They are hallmarked by offering high-level complex services that are not offered elsewhere in the community.

Q: How can Asante acquire practices such as Gastroenterology Consultants if there are financial challenges?
A: Capital acquisitions – like purchasing buildings and equipment – are long term investments, not daily consumable expenses. Capital acquisitions have the benefit of actual physical assets which can then be used long-term for clinical services. Daily expenditures like wages, utilities and supplies are daily operating expenses which should be covered by daily revenue. Asante makes strategic decisions around our partnerships and acquisitions based on our four strategic priorities: Culture, Quality & Safety, Strategy & Growth, and Financial Sustainability. We heavily prioritize the preservation of key services in our community and the safety net that we offer. Our region was at significant risk of losing GI services altogether. Partnerships like this underscore how collaboration is essential as health care organizations face increasing economic and regulatory pressures, and physician offices are not immune to these challenges. By joining forces, we’re able to maintain both inpatient and outpatient GI services for our communities and strengthen our ability to recruit specialists.

Q: Is the pending criminal case involving a former employee at Rogue Regional and civil case settlements reasons for this?
A: No, that case is unrelated to this decision and other current challenges. 

Q: Why are we continuing renovations at Rogue Regional Medical Center if we have financial concerns?
A: Like strategic acquisitions of patient care organizations, renovations and major equipment are funded through a separate long-term capital plan and not the day‑to‑day operating budget. Expanding access to services at our system’s tertiary regional referral center is essential to meeting our community’s needs, and this work has been planned for many years.

Many of these projects are made possible through the generosity of our community. Philanthropic support through the Asante Foundation plays a significant role in bringing these expansions to life. We are grateful for the continued support of our donors.

Q: Why can’t Asante Foundation help cover more of our losses?
A: Philanthropy supports strategic capital projects and programs that help transform health care in southern Oregon. While this generosity is central to our Mission and strengthens our ability to serve the region, philanthropic dollars are not intended to — and should not — cover operating costs. Relying on donor funds for ongoing expenses is not sustainable, and our approach to philanthropy is to partner with donors to enhance the services provided by Asante.

Pediatric Outpatient Infusion FAQ

Please find below an FAQ about the Pediatric Outpatient Infusion clinic at Rogue Regional Medical Center. 

Has there been a physician change within the Pediatric Outpatient Infusion clinic?

Our long-serving hematology-oncology physician, Dr. Plummer, is relocating and joining another organization outside of the region this summer. We’re grateful for her years of dedicated care to the southern Oregon community. Dr. Plummer will continue seeing patients and providing care through July 16, 2026.

Asante has been recruiting for an additional hematology-oncology physician position for this unit for several years with no success. This is a highly specialized service and limited across the country. The role remains open and is still posted on our careers website.

How does this impact services moving forward? 

This Unit serves patients for several different infusion therapy needs including chronic disease management, hematology and oncology. Following Dr. Plummer’s departure, community infusion patients with non‑oncologic conditions may continue receiving treatment in the Unit under physician oversight and with appropriate medical orders.

For years, Pediatric Outpatient Infusion has worked closely with physicians at specialized programs such as Doernbecher Children’s Hospital (an Oregon Health & Science University facility) in Portland, and other hospitals, to manage patients’ care plans. We are working with these physicians and Dr. Plummer to develop a near-term plan for the infusion services offered in the clinic.

We will work closely with each patient and family to understand their individual circumstances and plan for the future. Our priority is to ensure that all current patients continue to receive uninterrupted care and consistent support.

Who can I contact with questions? 

For general inquiries, please email communicationsrequest@asante.org.

Ashland Community Hospital FAQ

Please find below an FAQ about the upcoming changes for Ashland Community Hospital. The press release is available here.

Why is the hospital license at Ashland Community Hospital closing?

There are significant and growing challenges for health care organizations across the country. The financial and regulatory landscape in Oregon is worsening. Operating the hospital with inpatient services is no longer viable, and duplicating services with Rogue Regional Medical Center just 11 miles away is not the best use of much-needed health care resources in our region.

The small inpatient hospital will close its license and transition to be a satellite campus of Rogue Regional, and continue offering a 24/7 Emergency Department (ED) and other key services including outpatient surgeries, lab and imaging in its current location on Maple Street in Ashland. We believe this decision will allow us to continue delivering critical health care services to the community, as well as minimize the impact on our workforce, which we recognize as the largest employer is vital for the local economy. The transition is planned for a tentative date of May 20, contingent upon state licensing approval.

Is this happening because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1)?

There are many contributing factors. There have been shifts in demographics in the local community that have impacted the viability of keeping the hospital in its current configuration. In addition, proposed cuts to Medicaid at the federal and state level are expected over the next several years. Even prior to the anticipated funding reductions in the One Big Beautiful Bill, the regulatory burden on hospitals in the state of Oregon is untenable. Oregon hospitals are three-times more regulated than other hospitals in the country, adding unnecessary administrative costs without associated funding. As stewards of invaluable health care resources in the region, Asante aims to keep pace with these challenges and not wait to act.

What regulatory changes have contributed to Ashland Community Hospital becoming unsustainable in its current state?

Non-profit health care organizations in Oregon face a dual burden of significant federal cuts, as well as a number of recent unfunded mandates from the Oregon State Legislature and Oregon Health Authority that have required health care systems to reexamine operations in order to remain independent and financially sustainable.

These following changes will impact Asante:

State

• Hospital Staffing Law – the 2023 Hospital Staffing Law has resulted in Asante incurring significantly increased administrative costs and fees, exacerbating the financial strain on hospitals. This will likely increase due to the penalties and the administrative burden of responding to investigatory demands by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). The law continues to carry a high financial cost to health care systems – without any offset from the legislature to account for lost operating revenue.
• Presumptive Charity Care – despite known implementation concerns, particularly around the efficacy of the available screening tools, the legislature passed a bill that now requires health care systems to implement presumptive financial screening for charity care.
  
  Due to the shortcomings of the screening tools, this process initially resulted in a number of high-income individuals receiving charity care, as well as many complaints from members of the community due to the requirement that hospitals presumptively screen, regardless of consent or active participation in the process.
• Labor shortages due to refusal to join Compact – Oregon is one of only eight states that is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which discourages out-of-state nurses from taking roles in Oregon by delaying licensure approvals, leading to a persistent labor shortage and increased labor costs.
• Health Care Market Oversight and corporate practice of medicine laws – Oregon has some of the most restrictive laws on the books that place significant limits on what types of transactions, and with whom, health care systems can engage. This acts to prevent many common ownership and financing structures that otherwise can provide lifelines to strained physician practices and other business owned by physicians. The HCMO process itself is unnecessarily invasive and complicated, and the State’s costs of the programs are paid directly by the organizations being reviewed. Other structures that could potentially have been explored have been ruled out due, in part, to these regulatory hurdles. In a recent example, the burdensome HCMO process prevented Asante from purchasing a struggling surgery center (Southern Center of Southern Oregon) after engaging in good faith in the process since August of 2025. It is regrettable and very disappointing that Oregon Health Authority withheld approval, with the end result being the closure of an important surgical access point for the residents of southern Oregon.
• Hospital licensing fees – despite significant financial pressures on health care systems, the Oregon legislature passed legislation increasing hospital licensing fees by 400% in 2025.
• Cost Growth Target – Oregon’s Cost Growth Target places unrealistic cost increase limits on health care organizations, while imposing administratively burdensome performance improvement plans and stiff financial penalties for failure to meet such goals, despite health care organizations having little-to-no control over the price of goods and labor. This law overlooks the economic realities of the industry and forces health care organizations to divert critical resources toward documenting and defending broad, industry-wide trends—resources that should be focused on patient care.

Federal

• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) particularly impacts the state of Oregon, as the state has chronically underfunded the Medicaid program. One in three Oregonians currently rely on Medicaid for health insurance coverage.
  • Reduction of Medicaid eligible patients will result in a substantial increase in uninsured patients and uncompensated care.
  • The OBBBA decreases federal matching funds that are used to fund Oregon’s Medicaid program.
  • Continued impacts of Medicare sequestration.
  • Reduction in Disproportionate Share Hospital payments, which are used to help cover the cost of treating vulnerable patients.
  • Reduction of State Directed Payments through our CCOs.
• Expiration of ACA Tax Credits – the expiration of tax credits will lead to an increase in premiums and more uninsured patients.
• Tariff impacts on supply costs.
• Pharmaceutical impacts, through changes to 340B and overall cost specifically in cancer care.

Will removing the 49 inpatient beds reduce access for our community?

The hospital has sustained a significant decline in birth rates and inpatient admissions and has many duplicative services with Rogue Regional 11 miles away. With the significant headwinds hospitals face today, we can no longer justify maintaining the license for a hospital that operates in the red.

We will offer services at this facility the community is accessing, which is emergency services in the ER, outpatient surgeries, lab and imaging. The facility will continue operating with those services as a satellite campus of Rogue Regional. In addition, we plan to transfer the 49-bed license to Rogue Regional.

• Over the last few years, the ER volume has grown by 9% annually in Ashland, with 53% of visits from Ashland residents in 2025.
• Our inpatient volumes declined 14% over the last year.
• 208 total births in the last year, 45 of which were cesarean deliveries. 
  • Just 37 births from Ashland residents.
  • Birth rates have declined by 36% at the hospital overall.

System statistics

The facility is on pace for a negative operating margin this year—a $12 million decline year-over-year.

Other Asante Physician Partners outpatient clinics near the hospital will remain open including Family Medicine and Obstetrics; Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and General Surgery.

What other strategic workforce investments is Asante continuing to make to expand access within the community?

Asante employs 366 providers, including 226 physicians. In 2025, we recruited a record 68 additional providers to work in the region at significant unfunded investment. As the largest recruiter and employer of physicians in southern Oregon, efforts spent on unneeded regulatory burden take away resources that could be invested in both primary and specialty care access. Southern Oregon is significantly underserved from a physician workforce perspective, and Asante is uniquely positioned to address those needs as part of its charitable mission.

What is going to happen to the hospital employees?

All employees in departments remaining at the facility will continue their existing roles. Staff within impacted departments will be offered a like position at Asante’s other hospitals.

How will this affect the medical staff at Ashland Community Hospital?

By operation of law, when Ashland Community Hospital converts to a satellite campus of Rogue Regional, the medical staff at Ashland Community Hospital will disband. Current physicians and other providers who wish to continue working at the new satellite facility will need to become members of the Rogue Regional medical staff. Asante will take proactive steps to facilitate this transition with little to no gaps in coverage.

What is happening with the Age-Friendly Care designation for ACH?

We’re going to evaluate continued participation in the program as part of the process for converting the facility. Having this designation does not change our approach to compassionate care for all patients.

I planned to give birth at Ashland in a few months, what should I do?

We plan for this transition to take place in the spring. We anticipate that services will operate normally until then. Alternatively, you and your physician or provider can choose to deliver at Rogue Regional or another facility. Please consult your physician or other provider of birthing services to discuss your birth plan.

Do your other hospitals have more capacity for births?

Yes. In 2024, we opened the new Olsrud Family Women’s and Children’s Hospital at Rogue Regional, which includes the Binette Family Birth Center. Additionally, we operate a Family Birth Center in Grants Pass at Three Rivers Medical Center.

• Over the last year, the Ashland facility had 208 total births, 45 of which were cesarean deliveries.
  
  • Just 37 births from Ashland residents.
  • Birth rates have declined by 36% at the hospital overall.
• Ashland residents delivered 25% more births at Rogue Regional than Ashland Community Hospital.

What is Rogue Regional’s bed capacity and birth rate?

In 2025, Rogue Regional treated 18,466 adult inpatients and delivered 1,650 babies.

Which imaging modalities will be available?

All current Asante Imaging services will continue at the facility, including: X-ray, ultrasound, mammography, MRI and CT scan.

Did Asante acquire the hospital from the City of Ashland and what is the ongoing relationship?

Following years of operating in the red, attributing losses to low Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, charity care and unpaid bills, the City of Ashland chose to sell the  hospital in 2012. Asante and the City had an affiliation agreement that began in 2013; followed by a full merger into Asante in 2017. Between 2014 and 2017, Asante assumed the City’s $8 million in hospital debt and invested $10 million in the facility. In addition, Asante assumed the underfunded Ashland defined benefit plan and has contributed $18 million since the acquisition to get the defined benefit plan fully funded for Asante Ashland employees.

We are working directly with the City of Ashland to ensure the continuation of our long-time partnership and mutually aligned goals and believe the proposed structure that will retain the Emergency Department, Lab, Imaging and other outpatient services will allow the facility to continue to provide important services to the community now and into the future.

How will Asante and the City of Ashland resolve the Affiliation Agreement?

Following completion of the process to convert Ashland Community Hospital to a satellite campus of Rogue Regional Medical Center, Asante and the City of Ashland plan to mutually terminate the prior Affiliation Agreement, after which time Asante pays the City of Ashland $4,000,000 on or before June 18, 2026. The parties are working collaboratively on the details of this plan and will make a formal announcement at a later date.

How does this impact funding from Ashland Community Health Foundation?

Ashland Community Health Foundation is a separate independent organization from the hospital.

What if I made a donation to Asante designated to Ashland Community Hospital?

The Asante Foundation is happy to work with you directly on this. We can pass your information on to them, and they will be in touch, or you can contact them directly.

How is this going to affect my health care coverage?

This will not affect your insurance coverage for any Asante hospitals or clinics.

Are patients going to need to reschedule appointments?

The transition is planned for a tentative date of May 20, contingent upon state licensing approval. This change will not impact most of our scheduled appointments. If your appointments are before then, you will not need to re-schedule. We will actively contact any patients impacted with appointment changes. We encourage you to continue to be seen – the ED, Lab and Imaging will continue uninterrupted.

Are patients going to need to change doctors?

As always, patients who will be impacted by a physician or provider change will be contacted directly. Patients who are pregnant and plan to deliver after spring 2026 will need to identify a physician or provider with privileges at Rogue Regional or the facility of their choice.

Is Asante going out of business?

No. This decision for Ashland is part of an overall strategy to ensure the organization continues to be sustainable across all of our facilities. We will continue the services that the Ashland community utilizes the most under a different operating model, while consolidating inpatient services at Rogue Regional just 11 miles away.

Is Asante going to sell to another system?

No. Asante is making this change to ensure financial sustainability to support remaining independent and prosperous into the future. Not making changes like this would jeopardize long-term viability.

Why doesn’t Asante sell the hospital instead of close it?

We deeply value the City of Ashland and its local community, and we believe that we are best positioned to continue serving the community. Converting to a satellite campus is the pathway to keep the facility in the community for the long-term, maintain key services and continue local ownership. Any other operator of the hospital would face the same challenges. Asante is best positioned given our other facilities and resources available in the valley.

Is this going to impact access to care?

We believe that this will allow us to improve access to care by rebalancing resources that would otherwise be spent on underutilized services at Ashland Community Hospital and reallocate across the system where the need is greater.

Is the Ashland orthopedics practice closing?

Yes, the Orthopedic Surgery and Spine Care clinic in Ashland is closing on March 4. In the event a service, procedure or follow-up care cannot be completed by March 4, we are supporting patients with referrals to a new provider within the community.

How is this going to impact independent practice groups in Ashland?

We do not anticipate a major impact on independent practice groups in Ashland. Asante is still going to be in Ashland and will be open for outpatient services, including Lab, Imaging and surgery. Anesthesia coverage will continue for surgeries and eye procedures.

Other Asante Physician Partners outpatient clinics near the hospital will remain open.

What will happen if I go to Ashland for an emergency and need to be admitted? Will I get to choose where to go?

We have a dedicated regional Transfer Admit Center that helps facilitate transfers across the region and will help transfer patients to another facility that can address more acute inpatient or specialty needs.

Is this happening due to quality concerns?

The decision to convert Ashland Community Hospital to an Emergency Medical Services Satellite is purely to maintain clinical and operational sustainability and access to care across the system/region.

Are you closing the hospital license because of the pending criminal case involving a former employee at Rogue Regional?

No, that case is unrelated to this decision.

Is the state forcing Ashland to close?

No. Asante is a locally managed and governed not-for-profit independent health system, and we are making this change for the reasons stated. We will be working in close partnership with the Oregon Health Authority, and using their guidance to ensure a smooth transition of licensure with minimal or no interruption in service availability.

Do you think other hospitals in the State will close?

We have heard from many hospitals throughout the State that they are facing persistent financial and regulatory pressures and, while we hope that others are not required to further cut services or close hospitals, we anticipate that other systems are facing difficult choices.

Will this impact patients in northern California?

We believe this change will continue to serve patients in northern California by providing continued closer access to emergency care and outpatient services. Higher acuity patients are typically transferred from facilities within northern California to Rogue Regional and we do not anticipate this will change.

Will registered nurses at the new satellite be required to join the union at Rogue Regional and required to pay monthly dues?

No. This will be a separate satellite designation that is outside the scope of the current Rogue Regional Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Will this alleviate pressure on the Emergency Department at Rogue Regional Medical Center?

Many patients seek both emergency and non-emergency care by accessing the EDs at our various hospitals. We anticipate that the continued utilization of the ED in Ashland will hopefully alleviate some pressure on Rogue Regional. The Immediate Care on the Rogue Regional campus is also a great resource for non-emergent but urgent illness and injuries.

What will happen with my medical records?

Your medical records will remain with Asante; if you decide to seek care with another provider we can help with a transfer of your medical records by calling (541) 201-4070 or visit www.asante.org/patients-visitors/medical-records/.

What will the facility be called after this transition takes place?

This planning is underway, and we will share this information in spring 2026.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) FAQ

Please find below an FAQ about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Rogue Regional Medical Center.

Is the NICU at Rogue Regional Medical Center closing? 

No. This is a critical service line that we are committed to growing to better serve the families across the many counties who rely on Rogue Regional Medical Center for this specialty care.

Are the nine neonatologists still employed with Asante?  

Yes, all nine neonatologists are still working shifts in the NICU with 24/7 coverage. Until new plans are in place this summer, current staffing is expected to remain the same. The current physicians may have the opportunity to apply for positions with the selected regional or academic partners.

What are the plans for the NICU after July 2026? 

We are exploring clinical partnerships with academic and other regional providers who share our vision of expanding neonatal access and capability for our health system and region.

Why are we making this change? 

We want to expand access to keep more neonates in our region, closer to families. The includes extending neonatology specialist coverage to Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass.

Hospitalists FAQ

Please find below an FAQ about hospitalists at Rogue Regional Medical Center (RRMC).

Are hospitalists working at Rogue Regional Medical Center (RRMC)? 

Yes, inpatient services remain covered and uninterrupted. Individual hospitalists are not employed by RRMC, they are employed by a private company (Southern Oregon Hospitalists, PC) that provides contracted services to RRMC. Consistent with the terms of an existing professional services agreement, we provided a one-year notice to Southern Oregon Hospitalists, PC.

Why is Asante making this change?  

We directly employ hospitalists at our other facilities through Asante Physician Partners. Transitioning to a single systemwide employed hospitalist model will ensure sustainable and aligned inpatient coverage for our communities.

Once the contract expires with Southern Oregon Hospitalists, PC, current hospitalists will have the opportunity to become Asante employees.

Will there still be coverage for inpatient care at RRMC?

Yes, 24/7 inpatient care continues, and current staffing is expected to remain the same.