Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner called on congressional leaders to protect Medicaid from budget cuts designed to fund tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. In Oregon, approximately 1 in 3 state residents get their health insurance from the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), Oregon’s Medicaid program.

At a national news conference with other state treasurers earlier in the day, Treasurer Steiner stated:

"Medicaid cuts will delay or deny health care, raise costs and push more families closer to financial instability and bankruptcy.

Oregon’s economic stability is also at risk. Medicaid budget cuts or cost shifts to states will eliminate jobs, hamstring our economy and destabilize the health care system, especially in rural communities across Oregon.

The bottom line: Medicaid works. In Oregon, Medicaid has helped slow the growth of health costs. It provides vital health coverage and senior care that most middle- and lower-income families cannot afford to live without.

America must provide opportunity to working families who are already struggling to save for emergencies, their children’s education, and retirement – not put greater financial burdens on their shoulders. Protecting Medicaid is a vital investment in their well-being. I urge Congress to put the interests of working families ahead of another tax cut benefiting the wealthiest Americans and corporations."

Treasurer Steiner’s full remarks can be seen here: https://bit.ly/41N1Z0X

Facts about Oregon’s Medicaid program:

• Medicaid covers 1 in 3 people in Oregon (1.4 million people).
• Today 97% of Oregonians have health coverage. Before Oregon expanded Medicaid nearly 1 in 5 Oregonians lacked health coverage.
• 57% of Oregon children – and 45% of all births – are covered by Medicaid.
• 2 out of every 3 nursing home residents rely on Medicaid.
• Counties in rural areas typically have Oregon’s highest Medicaid enrollment rates. In Oregon Congressional District 2, which spans most of Oregon east of the Cascades:
  • More than 4 in 10 residents receive health care through the Oregon Health Plan (the highest percentage in the state).
  • 7 in 10 children are covered by OHP.
  • More than 110,000 adults are covered by Medicaid expansion.
• Medicaid budget cuts under consideration by Congress could cost Oregon more than $3 billion in federal funding and put coverage at risk for more than 670,000 Oregonians.