Appeals court rules on hospitals’ psych care lawsuit against OHA [Video]

PORTLAND, Ore. — Judges with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled that a lawsuit filed by four of Oregon’s largest hospital systems against the Oregon Health Authority over state psychiatric care needs further review at the district court level before a ruling can be made.

The appellate judges reversed and vacated a prior district court ruling that found the hospital systems’ lacked third-party standing to assert claims on behalf of civilly committed patients. They remanded the case to district court.

Legacy Health, Providence Health & Services, PeaceHealth and the St. Charles Health System are suing the OHA, alleging that the state fails to provide proper treatment to people with severe mental illness. 

At the core of the issue, the hospital systems say OHA’s lack of bed space for civilly committed …