Access to health care is declining across Lane County, report finds.

EUGENE, Ore. - Access to health care in Lane County has been on the decline, according to a new assessment by local public health experts.

The public health assessment, conducted every five years, marks the first since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kachina Inman, Assistant Director at Lane County Health and Human Services, was among many others who helped present the report to Lane County Board of Commissioners on September 30th.

"Despite gains made over the last decade through expansion of Medicaid (OHP) and reducing rates of people without insurance, access to health care has declined in recent years. Mental health care remains out of reach for many people," the assessment read.

"Between 2014 and 2021, access to health care improved dramatically in Lane County. But what we heard from co