The Oregon Health Authority is laying off employees at the end of this month and bracing for more to come, citing federal funding cuts that will have a “far-reaching” impact on the state agency.
Just how many layoffs are expected isn’t clear, and agency spokespeople did not respond to a request for information about them. However, at least 10 people working on public health and disease prevention have been notified that their current positions are ending June 30 because the federal grant funding will stop, according to emails obtained under Oregon Public Records Law.
The public health staff to be laid off are working to prevent transmission of HIV, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. But they are just the start.
“The Public Health Division will feel the most immediate effects, but the scale of these funding cuts means impacts may be felt across the entire agency,” Kris Kautz, the agency’s’s interim director, wrote in a June 18 email to staff. Kautz is filling the position while OHA Director Sejal Hathi is on parental leave.
More cuts coming
Kautz wrote that the agency is still working to identify which federal grants are likely to be terminated and what positions are at risk, adding that “we anticipate that reduced or unfunded federal grants may continue to impact staffing over the coming months.”
The layoffs were announced just as OHA appears headed for approval of a12% increase in its 2025-27 budget. The increase would allocate tens of millions of dollars for mental health, maternity services and reproductive care, and would increase staff by 300 people to nearly 6,000 employees.
Additional federal funding cuts are expected to hit Oregon’s health care network hard as Republicans in Congress push forward a budget bill that could slash Medicaid and food aid. Oregon is facing a potential loss of $1 billion or more in federal funds safety net programs.