2025 Endorsements

Food for All Oregonians (FFAO) initiative

The Food for All Oregonians (FFAO) initiative aims to create a state-funded program to provide SNAP (food assistance) benefits to immigrants and refugees who are excluded from the federal program due to their immigration status. This policy specifically targets youth (ages 0-25) and elders (ages 53+) who are disproportionately affected by hunger and food insecurity. With hunger on the rise in Oregon, particularly among immigrant and refugee communities, FFAO seeks to eliminate immigration-based exclusions to food assistance programs, ensuring that anyone in need can access essential nutrition.

The FFAO policy is expected to significantly reduce health disparities by improving food security for immigrant and refugee populations, who are twice as likely to experience food insecurity compared to white Oregonians. The policy is linked to better health outcomes, including reduced rates of malnutrition, chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, and overall improvements in physical and mental well-being. The program would also address the systemic inequities in Oregon’s health and social services, with strong support from over 145 organizations, including BIPOC-led groups. Although it faced challenges in the past legislative session, the policy continues to have bipartisan backing and is part of a broader national movement to extend food assistance to excluded communities.

One-Pager

https://www.foodforallor.org/

The Expansion of Regional Health Equity Coalitions (RHECs) legislative concepts, seeks to increase the number of RHECs to 15 statewide and adjust funding for inflation. These coalitions are vital community-based organizations working to address health inequities by engaging with diverse populations, including communities of color, immigrants, refugees, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, and those in rural areas. By expanding RHECs and increasing funding, this policy aims to enhance the capacity of these organizations to serve communities across Oregon, identifying and removing barriers to health, and ensuring more equitable access to resources.

The expected outcomes include better health for all Oregonians, particularly those in historically marginalized groups. The RHECs play a crucial role in fostering community-led solutions to systemic health challenges, increasing authentic engagement, and building capacity within communities to address health disparities. Through needs assessments and direct collaboration with communities, this policy is designed to generate meaningful, long-term changes in health systems. While the fiscal impact analysis is ongoing, the policy is strongly supported by RHECs, with past advocacy demonstrating the necessity of expanding these coalitions to reach more people statewide. However, the policy may face opposition from legislators who are resistant to equity-focused initiatives.

The Notification for Hospital Closures LC aims to provide communities with adequate time to prepare for hospital service closures, relocations, or reductions. This policy requires hospitals to notify the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), local governments, patients, and employees at least 275 days before closing or altering services, including general medical, surgical, mental health, and substance use disorder care. The bill would help mitigate the impacts of hospital closures, especially in rural and urban areas where vulnerable populations—such as low-income individuals, elders, and those with limited mobility—are most affected. Hospitals that fail to provide the required notice may face civil penalties.

The expected outcome of this policy is improved preparedness for communities facing the loss of healthcare services, allowing them to plan for alternative care options. By providing more time to address potential gaps in healthcare access, the bill will help reduce the burden on underserved communities. Hospital closures often disproportionately affect rural areas and communities of color, and this bill aims to lessen those impacts by ensuring patients and providers have time to adjust. While there is no formal data collection outlined, the bill’s success could be tracked by monitoring how communities use the notice period to mitigate care disruptions.

LC 230 End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco

The End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco LC aims to eliminate the sale of flavored tobacco products in Oregon, including e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, and shisha. The bill intends to stop the tobacco industry from targeting youth, communities of color, and vulnerable populations through flavored tobacco products, which have been linked to higher usage rates in these groups. This policy is designed to reduce health disparities by limiting access to products that contribute to smoking-related diseases and complications, particularly in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, as well as among LGBTQ+ individuals and youth.

The expected outcomes include a decrease in tobacco use, particularly in communities that are most impacted by flavored tobacco marketing. Studies have shown that menthol cigarettes are disproportionately marketed to Black Americans, leading to higher smoking rates and associated health problems. This bill would help curb those inequities by removing flavored products from the market. The bill’s effectiveness can be tracked through data collected by the Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, which monitors tobacco use rates, health outcomes, and smoking-related diseases.

The bill has garnered support from a diverse coalition, including organizations that represent BIPOC communities, health agencies, and youth councils. These groups have been integral in shaping the bill, ensuring it addresses the targeting of specific populations by the tobacco industry. If enacted, the policy will contribute to reducing health disparities in Oregon by making tobacco products less accessible to vulnerable groups.

HB 2010

This legislation is vital to the continuation of our state's Medicaid program. The Provider and Insurer Assessment, along with the OHSU intergovernmental transfer provide much of the base funding from state and federal sources to protect the Oregon Health Plan and other important programs.

HB 2729

HB 2729 (bill language found here – note that amendments are being made to match what is below) asks for three things:

• Planning grant opportunities for 5 local communities to implement a school-based health center or school nurse model according to their priority needs.  ($600,000)
• Inflationary increase of $10,000 to the school-based health center base rate, and tied to inflation moving forward.  ($900,000)
• Increase the school-based mental health fund to provide additional mental health and substance use services in schools either directly or through SBHCs.  ($7.85 million)

Public Health Modernization 2025

This budget request is advocating for a $25 million biennial funding increase to continue Oregon’s public health modernization efforts, aimed at addressing health inequities. The initiative focuses on eliminating health disparities through targeted actions in areas such as preventing congenital syphilis, increasing immunization rates, and improving resilience to climate-related health impacts. This budget request builds on previous investments to enhance Oregon’s capacity to respond to public health threats, especially for communities most at risk. CLHO highlights the importance of coordination across sectors to reduce morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, while also fostering collaboration between local health authorities, community organizations, and healthcare providers to ensure effective interventions.

Addiction Primary Prevention

This budget request is advocating for a $25 million biennial investment in primary substance use prevention programs. Currently, only 6% of Oregon’s substance use budget is spent on prevention, with the majority allocated to treatment and recovery. This proposal aims to dedicate funding to programs that teach youth skills to prevent substance use, focusing on evidence-based prevention in schools and communities, especially for high-risk populations like rural residents, low-income communities, and communities of color. This initiative seeks to reduce long-term substance use by addressing its root causes early, thereby saving money on future treatment costs. The funding will also support local health authorities in customizing programs to meet the specific needs of their communities.

Early Childhood Package 

This budget request is seeking $10.2 million in state funding to support the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Nurse Home Visiting (NHV) programs. WIC provides essential nutrition and healthcare services to low-income families, while NHV offers in-home support to new parents, improving health outcomes. The proposed funding will reduce wait times, increase staff, and improve accessibility, especially for underserved areas. The funding is expected to enhance child nutrition, prevent child abuse, and reduce ER visits. It will specifically target low-income families and communities with gaps in service access. The proposal aligns with state goals of eliminating health inequities and improving early childhood health outcomes through prevention and intervention. The funding request would support program expansion, staffing, and reducing wait times for services.

Equity Centered Career Pathways in Public Health

This budget request is proposing a $5 million funding initiative to support the development of career pathways in public health, focusing on Community Health Workers (CHWs), Community Paramedicine (CP), and Local and Tribal Public Health (LPH) departments. These professions play a critical role in addressing health inequities, particularly in underserved communities. CHWs help bridge gaps in healthcare access, while CP programs provide home-based services for chronic disease management. LPH departments are struggling with high turnover and burnout. The proposal seeks funds to provide scholarships, training, and career development to enhance workforce diversity and address health disparities, particularly in rural and BIPOC communities. This policy aims to improve health outcomes by providing culturally relevant services and reducing barriers to healthcare access. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Deb Patterson and Rep. Hai Pham, with support from several advocacy organizations. The proposed funding would support sustainable growth and development for these essential health roles.

Sustainable Funding and Support for Community Health Workers (CHWs)

This bill will provide sustainable funding and support for Community Health Workers (CHWs). CHWs play a vital role in addressing health inequities by linking underserved communities to health and social services. Despite their impact, CHWs are among the lowest-paid health professionals and face challenges in navigating fragmented and unsustainable reimbursement pathways, contributing to high turnover and burnout.

This proposal aims to reform Medicaid payment pathways, improving accessibility and effectiveness for CHWs and their organizations. It also seeks to provide technical support for organizations to engage with Medicaid billing systems. By improving the funding mechanisms for CHWs, the proposal aims to reduce administrative burdens and support consistent, culturally competent care, ultimately improving health outcomes, particularly for BIPOC and rural communities.

Sustainable Funding and Support for Mobile Integrated Health

The Sustainable Funding and Support for Mobile Integrated Health proposal aims to establish a statewide framework for Community Paramedicine (CP) in Oregon, a healthcare model that brings essential services like chronic disease management and preventive care to underserved populations in home and community settings. The proposal seeks to create a Community Paramedic registry, develop Medicaid billing mechanisms, and provide technical support to organizations. By addressing non-emergent care needs, particularly in rural and underserved areas, CP programs reduce hospital readmissions, emergency calls, and healthcare costs, while improving health outcomes.

The proposal focuses on health equity, aiming to reduce disparities by serving individuals who face barriers to traditional healthcare. It emphasizes collecting standardized data on health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and cost reductions, helping demonstrate the positive impact of MIH on underserved communities. The policy is sponsored by Rep. Rob Nosse and is supported by organizations like Oregon CLHO and the Oregon Mobile Integrated Health Coalition. While there has been minimal opposition, concerns about workforce impact have been addressed by showing how CP programs can alleviate strain on EMS systems.