Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek Signs Executive Order on Health Care Costs Ahead of Federal Medicaid Changes
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order on Oct. 13 with seven directives aimed at lowering health care costs and tracking coverage losses as federal Medicaid work requirements approach.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at protecting health care access and lowering costs in the state as federal funding changes take effect.
The order, which took effect immediately, contains seven directives covering legislative proposals, new reporting requirements and reviews of existing programs, according to the Statesman Journal.
In a statement, Kotek said federal decisions by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans were affecting the state’s ability to keep residents insured, and that the order focuses on steps Oregon can take now “to reduce healthcare costs, keep Oregonians insured, and create more certainty and stability for healthcare providers in every corner of the state.”
Medicaid work requirements are the trigger
Oregon Health Authority officials have warned that more than 600,000 people could be affected by new Medicaid work requirements under H.R. 1, the 2025 federal reconciliation bill, starting Jan. 1, 2027. About 97% of Oregonians had health insurance as of 2024, and about a third of those were enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program, according to the authority.
The order says the combined effect of the federal actions could pull an estimated $9.4 billion in total funds out of Oregon’s health care providers, systems and programs by 2031. Nationally, the bill’s $1 trillion in health care spending cuts could leave more than 14 million additional people uninsured by 2034.
Among the directives: the Department of Consumer and Business Services must hire an outside party to review the state’s reinsurance program, with a report due by March 2027; regulators must enforce a requirement that at least 12% of insurers’ spending goes to primary care; and the Oregon Health Authority and Department of Human Services must send the governor and lawmakers quarterly reports on residents who lose or are denied coverage because of the federal changes. Oregon’s Medicaid program is the state-run version of the federal-state health program described here.
Reporting based on coverage by the Statesman Journal.
