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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek charged a group of experts six months ago to figure out how to plug a $421 million hole in the Oregon Health Plan budget.

They came back this week with dozens of options to reduce spending, but no clear direction on which to choose. OPB’s Amelia Templeton takes a deep dive into the report and the difficult choices that lie ahead.

In other news, data centers and other large energy consumers in Oregon will be paying nearly 30% more for power after state regulators approved a rate hike yesterday.

Here’s your First Look at Wednesday’s news.

— John Hill

Top story

Oregon eyes $421 million in medicaid cuts, including fewer benefits and limits on prescription drugs

Major cuts are coming to the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s free healthcare program covering 1.4 million children and low-income adults. But the group of experts Gov. Tina Kotek charged with minimizing the harm of those cuts has given her no definitive recommendations.

Instead, this week they gave the governor a report listing more than 40 different options for reducing spending on the program, with no consensus on which to choose.

That means Kotek still has no clear path to plugging a $421 million dollar hole in the state’s upcoming two-year budget, with five months left before her budget plan is due to the Legislature.

Rising prices for healthcare and increased spending on addiction and mental illness are driving up state costs, while Republicans in Congress have passed the steepest federal cuts to Medicaid since the program began. (Amelia Templeton)

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3 things to know

1. The Oregon Public Utility Commission unanimously approved Portland General Electric’s 29.7% rate hike for large energy users to take effect today. Residential rates will go down 1.3%. (Monica Samayoa)
2. The Bonneville Power Administration said in June that it would cut funding for a program that raises millions of salmon in hatcheries. But a bipartisan group of Oregon coastal lawmakers wants the agency to reverse course, as it could rock the commercial and sportfishing industries that their communities rely on. (Bryce Dole)
3. Portland City Councilors may tweak a policy meant to boost homeownership for lower-income Portlanders due to a lack of buyers. The change, which councilors will consider today, would allow people of all incomes to buy homes initially intended for lower-income buyers. (Alex Zielinski)

Northwest headlines

• Oregon honors fallen firefighters at memorial wall in Salem (Lauren Dake, OPB)

• Data centers in Clackamas County? Commissioners discuss benefits, drawbacks (Holly Bartholomew, OPB)

• These 3 Washington communities now need state approval for election rule changes (Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard)

• A new Oregon home-sharing program aims to help seniors stay in their homes (Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio)

• Nordic Veneer closes mill in Roseburg after more than 72 years (Nathan Wilk)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

Today’s planned topics:

Topics subject to change.

• Ethical and safety concerns abound as wildfire prediction betting heats up

• How Portland’s sports bar scene has tapped into World Cup momentum

One more look

Fewer Oregon bees are dying from pesticides, report shows

More than a decade after Oregon took notice of an alarming number of bee deaths due to pesticides, the pollinators are rebounding. There have been no documented bee kills from pesticides since 2021, according to the very first “Bees of Oregon” report.

The Oregon Legislature convened a task force to improve bee health and habitat more than a decade ago. The Oregon Bee Project has since trained thousands of pesticide applicators, educated kids on Oregon bees and established bee protection measures for land managers.

“Oregon Field Guide” featured the project in 2018.

“Oregon has built one of the strongest bee survey and education networks in the country,” said Andony Melathopoulos, a pollinator expert at OSU’s Extension Service. (Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/08/opbs-first-look-oregon-health-plan-faces-looming-budget-cuts/