SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon lawmakers have sent a $465 million healthcare package to the governor’s desk to address funding shortfalls in the state’s Medicaid program.
The state’s Senate approved the plan on Thursday, a week after it passed the House. The measure secures six years of funding for Oregon’s Medicaid program through a tax on hospitals and health insurance premiums.
The move comes as the state faces a Medicaid funding gap that’s snowballed to more than $800 million. Gov. Kate Brown is looking to pay down the rest of that funding shortfall through a tax increase on tobacco and e-cigarettes. She also wants to tax employers who have a high proportion of employees on Medicaid.
Over a million people are covered by the state’s Medicaid program.
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