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During an appearance before a legislative committee, doctors from Eugene Emergency Physicians suggested an Oregon law that regulates private and corporate control of medical practices might apply to the Atlanta-based company. They also raised concerns about risks to emergency response during disasters.
This story was updated to include a statement from PeaceHealth.
Two doctors with Eugene Emergency Physicians asked elected officials on Thursday, March 5, for a state-level review of PeaceHealth’s decision to contract with Georgia-based ApolloMD to provide emergency services at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.
The physicians spoke at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Emergency Management, Federal and World Affairs at the invitation of the committee chair, Sen. James Manning, D-Eugene. Sen. Floyd Prozanski, also a Eugene Democrat, joined the meeting, too.
In a presentation, Eugene Emergency Physicians vice presidents and medical doctors Jeremy T. Brown and Julie Seo outlined the events that have unfolded since PeaceHealth announced it would end its 35-year contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians, opting instead for ApolloMD.
The doctors specifically raised concerns about compliance with Oregon’s private-equity law and potential risks to disaster response and overall patient care at all three of PeaceHealth’s emergency departments in Lane County: RiverBend in Springfield, Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence, and Cottage Grove Community Medical Center.
Seo and Brown referenced Oregon Senate Bill 951, a law signed last year that sets some of the nation’s strongest regulations on private and corporate control of medical practices. The bill closes a loophole that has allowed private equity firms and corporations to appear compliant by naming physicians — sometimes with limited or no authority — as clinic owners on paper.
They asked elected officials to consider whether the law could apply to Lane Emergency Physicians, which is the group ApolloMD is supporting the creation of, as well as to a contract switch with implications for public health in Eugene and Springfield.
Prozanski said he and other leaders met with the Oregon Health Authority this week.
“We are trying to find ways of determining whether this transaction is actually legitimate under state law,” he said.
A call for clarity on ApolloMD’s private equity involvement
Brown and Seo asked the state to review public records and documents, and to investigate statements made by ApolloMD CEO Yogin Patel that the company is not private equity or backed by private equity.
“We respectfully ask this body to consider whether emergency medicine department transitions of this magnitude receive state-level review,” said Brown, who clarified to Lookout Eugene-Springfield that the request is twofold: addressing the current situation and informing future policy.
In the presentation, Brown pointed to the financial database Tracxn, which lists the private firm ValorBridge Partners of Atlanta as an investor.
“We believe this relationship requires further evaluation to understand why ApolloMD is denying private equity involvement,” Brown said.
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Lookout Eugene-Springfield asked ApolloMD to clarify its relationship with ValorBridge and any private equity involvement.
Lookout sent ApolloMD information from PitchBook, an industry source for private market data, showing the company raised $11.46 million through private equity growth and expansion deals between 2015 and last year. In response, ApolloMD spokesperson Kimberly Johnson maintained the company is not backed by private equity.
Johnson wrote in an email Wednesday:
“PitchBook (and similar investor sites) likely derived this financing information from our annual SEC Form D filings, but without the necessary context. … On an annual basis, we allow our physicians, advanced practice clinicians, and employees to invest in the Company, and those investments are reported to the SEC. No one outside the organization is permitted to participate. It bears repeating that any characterization of our organization as backed by or funded by private equity is inaccurate.
“ValorBridge is a private entity owned by ApolloMD physicians and members of our leadership team. It bears repeating that ValorBridge is also not private equity backed and there are no outside investments. Neither ApolloMD nor ValorBridge have outside investors.”
Prozanski and Manning said they, along with Rep. Lisa Fragala, D-Eugene, met with Oregon Health Authority staff in a virtual meeting earlier this week to make them aware of the situation and ask about potential oversight.
“What we received is that they told us they are very limited to what they can or cannot do,” Prozanski said. “They are basically limited to transactions, and they describe transactions as a merger of two hospital entities, etc. We pushed back and asked them to do a little more groundwork, and work with their attorney general who represents them, and we have reached out to the Department of Justice to get some coordination.”
Prozanski and Manning said the question comes down to whether a contracting service falls under the state definition of transactions that trigger government oversight.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office at the state Department of Justice told Lookout Eugene-Springfield that they could not offer much comment:
“We’re aware of the situation. We cannot disclose the status of an investigation or any advice our clients have requested or that DOJ has provided,” communications director Jenny Hansson said in an email.
Senate Bill 951 stems in part from the fallout in primary care in Eugene and Springfield after the 2020 corporate acquisition of Oregon Medical Group by Optum, a national health care company and a division of UnitedHealth Group.
In an interview Friday, Feb. 27, Lookout asked PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern about his decision to switch contracts and its impact on a community still grappling with the loss of consistent primary care — and still receiving notices of more providers leaving as of last summer.
“Two very different situations,” McGovern said. “Optum owns OMG (Oregon Medical Group). They control it. It’s their clinic. ApolloMD is not buying our ER. ApolloMD is being contracted to come in to manage the emergency department. They are contracted to provide care, quality care. They answer to us. Optum answers to Optum.”
PeaceHealth’s communication team released the following statement in response to Thursday’s informational meeting, referencing its request for proposals (RFP) process that lead to the selection of ApolloMD:
“All organizations participating in the RFP process confirmed to PeaceHealth, before submitting proposals, that they could comply with SB951 requirements. One organization withdrew from the process after determining it could not meet those requirements. PeaceHealth appreciates the engagement of our local and state legislators and will continue working with ApolloMD to provide thorough responses and all requested information.“
Questioning risks to disaster response
During their presentation, Brown and Seo asked “whether there should be authority for oversight, including, if necessary, the right to seek judicial relief, when a transition may materially affect emergency preparedness and public safety infrastructure.”
Seo and Brown underscored how their practice has responded to surges from disasters, including the mass shooting at WOW Hall in 2022 and an ice storm in 2024. They said these responses succeeded because of coordination and planning with emergency services beyond hospital walls, including local fire departments.
“This is about ensuring that Lane County’s emergency system remains stable, locally accountable and disaster-ready,” Seo said. “Please take into consideration the urgency of this matter, as Eugene Emergency Physicians are trying to navigate uncertain times, maintaining this healthy, experienced group of 41 emergency providers who live here and serve here, strengthening Oregon’s health and emergency preparedness.”
Seo and Brown spoke about potential risks related to the level of medical input they would have if they signed with ApolloMD.
They said the current structure of Eugene Emergency Physicians is democratic, meaning several doctors weigh in and vote on decisions rather than authority resting with a single executive. That structure is among the reasons why they — and others in their practice — have signed a pledge not to work with ApolloMD for at least 90 days. The transition date for contracts is July 1.
In response to the presentation, Manning called the details of their concerns “chilling.”
“If there’s any way we can put this thing on ice, slow it down, stop it until we can find out if there is any type of legal recourse at this point, because I am very nervous and very concerned,” he said. “It is really appalling for PeaceHealth to even be going down this pathway.”
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