Nearly 600,000 Oregonians face losing health care due to federal HR 1 cuts

Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) --- Nearly 600,000 Oregonians are receiving notices this month that they could lose their health care coverage following federal budget cuts enacted under HR one. The Oregon House Committee on Health Care met today to hear updates from the Oregon Health Authority regarding how the federal budget reconciliation law will affect state residents, including teenagers and senior citizens.

According to Oregon Health Authority officials, the potential loss of eligibility is driven by a new wave of federal paperwork and reporting requirements. State Reps. Rob Nosse, Lesly Muñoz, Cyrus Javadi and Travis Nelson convened with health officials to assess the impact of the federal policy changes on Medicaid recipients and local health care systems.

Oregon Health Authority officials informed the House Committee on Health Care that the projected coverage losses stem from residents becoming ineligible under new administrative processes. State officials noted that the federal budget reconciliation law, known as HR 1, introduced a new wave of documentation and reporting mandates.

State lawmakers expressed concern over the potential strain on health care facilities, particularly in non-metropolitan areas. Rep. Javadi, D-Tillamook, highlighted the financial risks facing local medical centers and Medicaid recipients. “Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians are about to be kicked off Medicaid and rural hospitals are at risk, all because Trump's bill gave trillions in tax giveaways to the top 1%,” Javadi said. “It's not right and many people are going to needlessly suffer.”

Legislators also discussed the state's options for mitigating the effects of the federal legislation. Rep. Nosse, D-Inner SE & Inner NE Portland, noted the burden placed on state leaders to respond to the federal policy. “We didn't put Oregon in this position. Trump did,” Nosse said. “Every option has real costs for real people and now it's on us to figure out how to protect people in this state from the mess he made.”

Other lawmakers focused on the administrative hurdles facing individual policyholders who must repeatedly verify their status. Rep. Muñoz, D-Woodburn, criticized the repeated verification process required by the new rules. “People who are already doing everything right are being told to prove it over and over again, or they'll lose their care,” Muñoz said. “Trump and Congressional Republicans are tearing people down and harming our communities.”

The reporting guidelines have been characterized by federal officials as employment verification, though state lawmakers argued the rules act as a barrier to care. Rep. Nelson, D-N & NE Portland, commented on the structure of the reporting requirements. “Trump didn't have the guts to say "I'm cutting your health care," so instead he buried it under a mountain of paperwork and called it "work requirements,"” Nelson said. “Oregon wouldn't be having this hearing if our federal administration spent a quarter of the energy fixing things as it does finding new ways to make people's lives harder.”