Samaritan Leader Advocates for Health Care Funding on Capitol Hill August 4, 2025 Weeks before Congress passed H.R.1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Miranda Miller of Samaritan Health Services was in Washington, D.C., advocating for equitable access to health care and improved health care delivery systems. Miller, who became quality director of Samaritan’s Population Health Service Organization earlier in July, attended the American Medical Group Association Value-Based Care Summit and Capitol Hill Day for Healthcare in June, where she joined national leaders to push for policies that protect access to care and support sustainable delivery models. Miller met with several members of Oregon’s congressional delegation, including Congresswomen Janelle Bynum, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle and Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. Representing both Samaritan and the American Medical Group Association, she raised concerns about proposed Medicaid and Medicare cuts and their impact on patients in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties. “I started my conversations with the legislators sharing that 70% of our payer mix is federal,” said Miller, who highlighted the potential financial strain caused by the pending Medicare reimbursement reductions and Medicaid changes. Miller said that for many vulnerable people, Medicaid is the only way they can get medical care. She warned that budget cuts could hurt hospitals that provide specialized treatments. “It’s certainly going to hurt preventive services.” Miller said. “Getting patients in for those needed services is going to increase cost at the higher acuity levels. I anticipate an increase in emergency department visits and hospital admissions because people won’t be able to access the preventive services that help keep them out of the hospital.” Telehealth was another key issue. Health care advocates in attendance from across the nation called for maintaining payment parity between in-person and virtual visits and for permanently removing outdated restrictions on telehealth services. The group also discussed the need to modernize payment models, which Miller said are not keeping pace with inflation and impose high administrative burdens. Smaller practices, she noted, often lack the infrastructure and staffing to succeed under advanced payment models. Samaritan’s PHSO builds the infrastructure to allow success in advanced payment systems that incentivize health care providers to deliver higher-quality, more affordable care by offering bonuses or penalties based on patient outcome. Another topic discussed with the congressional delegation was waiving the 20% coinsurance for patients enrolled in Medicare’s Chronic Care Management Program, which Miller said would improve access for those with complex needs and improve health outcomes. “You feel like you’re doing something that matters,” Miller said. “It’s about making sure our voices and our patients’ needs are heard.”
