Other Views: Bentz’s vote to cut Medicaid hurts all Oregonians

Published 8:00 am Saturday, July 26, 2025

If you have the Oregon Health Plan, you have Medicaid.

Wendy Hasson is a physician in Portland, specializing in pediatric critical care and is a board member of the Oregon Pediatric Society.

Teri Mills is a retired nurse educator in Tualatin and is the former president of the National Nursing Network Organization.

The “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July 4 includes the largest cut to health care in U.S. history, slashing Medicaid by $1.02 trillion by 2034. Defunding Medicaid, known to us locally as the Oregon Health Plan, will negatively affect every Oregonian. It will hurt rural Oregonians the most.

More than 700,000 Oregonians live in Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District. They are represented in Congress by Rep. Cliff Bentz, who is the only member of the Oregon congressional delegation to vote yes on the federal bill.

A Congress member’s role is to advocate for the best interests of their constituents. In the case of Rep. Bentz, whose district has by far the highest number of adults and children on Medicaid in the state at around 38%, his vote is a clear act against the health and well-being of those living in his district.

Cutting Medicaid doesn’t just hurt children, although 54% of Oregon children and adolescents are on OHP. It doesn’t just hurt the poor, the disabled, or the elderly.

These cuts will hurt all of us.

Rep. Bentz supports his vote by arguing that millions of able-bodied adults are receiving benefits and choosing not to work. That simply is not true.

According to an update provided on May 30th by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 82% of Medicaid enrollees can account for their time by working, attending school or in caregiving roles.  Ten percetnt cannot work due to severe illness or disability. Only 8% are not working. If the proposed goal is to end unnecessary waste, adding paperwork and administrative costs to enforce a work requirement for a small number of nonworking individuals defeats the purpose.

Models show up to 20% of Oregonians enrolled in Medicaid stand to lose their benefits, many of whom are children. As medical providers who care for children and families, we worry. How will lives be impacted? It is already difficult to obtain specialty care in rural Oregon. Without access, people will have to travel farther and wait longer to see specialists. Care will be delayed and conditions will go untreated. Those who are unenrolled in Medicaid will face medical debt and potential homelessness.

In pediatrics, local rural hospitals will no longer be able to afford to care for children, forcing families to travel to Portland hospitals for care. Skilled nursing facilities will also close or cut services. Who will take care of mom or dad with dementia or an adult family member with disabilities? Will family members be forced to quit their jobs and become stay-at-home caregivers, threatening their own financial security?

As health care providers, we know how important prenatal care is for a healthy pregnancy and delivery, protecting both baby and mom from life-long complications by addressing problems before they worsen. The OHP pays for half of all Oregon births, more than the national average. This coverage ensures a healthy foundation for all young families. When children are born with life-long disabilities, the cost can be astronomical: in some cases approximately $1.6 million in addition to normal living expenses. If cutting Medicaid is about cost savings, you won’t find it in reducing pregnancy care.

Americans don’t want to save money by losing health care. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 73% of adults say Medicaid is very important to their local community, as well as to their own families. Only 17% said they want to see Congress decrease federal spending on Medicaid.

We encourage you to call the office of Rep. Bentz. Ask him what his plan is to keep Oregonians healthy in light of these extreme cuts that he supported. Rural Oregonians deserve health care.