This article will be updated.
While headlines feature a revenue surplus as well as a potential kicker to Oregon taxpayers, the Oregon Health Authority is asking Gov Tina Kotek for a roughly 3% increase in staffing.
The two-year budget request for $39 million includes number of new programs and additional spending on specific programs, according to a budget request submitted by agency Director Sejal Hathi on Aug. 30. The document, which was posted online, will be used by Kotek to submit her recommended budget to the Legislature.
In her formal letter providing the agency request for Kotek's review, Hathi wrote, “This budget submission aligns with your priorities to close Oregon’s shortage in behavioral health treatment capacity, better meet the needs of people with severe mental illness and reduce homelessness. In addition, this budget request provides critical support to OHA’s strategic plan to eliminate health inequities.”
The budget includes what are known as “policy option packages” that include a description of what specific funding increases are intended to fund. It also includes a menu of potential budget cuts.
In an internal email to the agency’s more than 5,000 employees, Hathi wrote that that request includes a number of specifics. Among those she listed, the following were the bigger-ticket items
- $176.1 million to add residential treatment beds around the state.
- $117.4 million worth of spending to beef up Oregon’s behavioral health workforce.
- $121.8 million to provide medical care for Incarcerated Individuals and assist their transitions after leaving prison.
In all, the requested budget includes more than $20 billion in federal funds, mostly going to fund the Oregon Health Plan, which is the state's version of Medicaid proving free care to low-income Oregonians. The document also includes $6.9 billion of discretionary general funds disbursed by lawmakers, funded through property taxes and the Oregon Lottery.
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Beefing up Oregon's behavioral health workforce is critical - but does she say how she plans on succeeding in this area? Adding beds? Also needed. Assisting transitions from incarcerated individuals when they leave prison? Also needed. However, all three of these initiatives require a workforce not yet available in Oregon. Try checking out all the BHI provider opening slots within the state....the shear numbers will shock you. This is by far our largest problem and cannot be solved by additional funding alone.