Governor Kotek Convenes Rural Health Care and Food Security Experts: “Proposed Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP Will Hit Our Patients the Hardest”

Bend, OR — Today, Governor Tina Kotek convened a roundtable to hear directly from rural Oregon healthcare experts, providers, and food system specialists about the impact of proposed cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposed bill, sponsored by Republican lawmakers in Washington D.C., will cut vital health care and food services for Oregonians in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

Governor Kotek said:

“More often than not, if you live in rural Oregon, it means traveling 30 miles or more to get your health care needs met. Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP threaten hospitals, clinics, medical offices, and services Oregonians depend on. These proposed cuts by Congressional Republicans put families who are planning to have children at risk, jeopardize health care access for kids, and could strip health insurance coverage from over 200,000 Oregonians.

“Today, I heard from caregivers of children who rely on the Oregon Health Plan. I wish every single member of Congress considering supporting the bill could have sat across from these folks today, because that’s who they were elected to answer to, not the ultra-wealthy who are getting tax breaks at the expense of children and families’ health care – especially in rural communities. To the 1 in 3 Oregonians who rely on Medicaid and SNAP: I will continue to fight against this proposal and uplift your voices at every turn.”

If the current proposal was signed into law, 100,000 to 200,000 Oregonians will likely lose coverage, resulting in $718 million to $1.4 billion in reduced federal funding coming to Oregon per year, or $8 billion to $16 billion over the next 10 years. New red tape that will burden nearly 500,000 Oregonians and require significant taxpayer dollars and new positions could cost more than $100 million to implement. Overall, Congress is poised to make accessing health care more difficult, more costly, and available to fewer Oregonians.

The proposed cuts threaten to take food off the table for Oregonians, place unsustainable financial burdens on the State, and risk the well-being of families and local economies. If passed, the legislation would dismantle SNAP’s federal-state structure, forcing Oregon to absorb $850 million in new costs per biennium and slashing food aid for families, children, seniors, and immigrants.

The Governor convened the following people today:

• Andrea Carr, Medicaid and SNAP recipient
• Dr. Logan Clausen, Chief Medical Officer, Central Oregon Pediatric Associates
• Jeremy Davis, CEO, Grande Ronde Hospital
• Kellie Frank, Harney Food Systems Coordinator
• Sean Jessup, CEO, Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization
• Dr. Jinnell Lewis, MD, (multiple employment), Presenting as a Full Spectrum Family Medicine Physician and Residency Leader
• Megan Haase, CEO, Mosaic Community Health
• Olivia Quiroz, Executive Director, Oregon Latino Health Coalition
• Dr. Linda Selby, Chief Medical Officer, Harney District Hospital Family Care
• Jenny Widder, Medicaid and SNAP recipient

"I appreciate Governor Kotek coming to Central Oregon to learn more about the impacts that loss of Medicaid and SNAP benefits would have on rural Oregonians," Megan Haase, FNP and CEO of Mosaic Community Health, said. "I am deeply concerned about the potential impacts that proposed cuts to Medicaid would have on our patients and our entire Central Oregon community. More than half of our 34,000 patients rely on Medicaid for health coverage, including low-income families, children, people with disabilities, seniors, and pregnant women. Cuts to Medicaid will leave even more Central Oregonians without health insurance, moving us further away from our goal of a healthy community."

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