Ways and Means advances $23 billion DHS budget with investments in Medicaid rates, in‑home care and residential oversight

The Joint Committee on Ways and Means on June 13 recommended Senate Bill 55‑26, the Department of Human Services biennial budget, be reported out to the full committee as amended. The human services subcommittee’s recommendation funds wage and rate increases, a new in‑home care option, homelessness prevention and enhanced oversight of residential care.

The subcommittee approved a total funds budget of $23,000,000,000 and a general fund allocation of $7,400,000,000 supporting 11,351 positions. The recommended general fund budget is about $1.3 billion, or 21.8%, higher than the 2023–25 budget, attributed mainly to caseload growth, wage and rate pressures and a declining federal Medicaid match. The recommendation includes targeted investments such as $144,000,000 total funds to increase Medicaid provider rates with a focus on higher wages for direct‑care staff; $102,000,000 total funds to launch “Agency with Choice,” a new in‑home care option for seniors and people with disabilities; $19,700,000 to sustain youth homelessness prevention and intervention services; and $5,700,000 and 33 positions to improve state oversight of residential care facilities and homes.

To fund priorities, the subcommittee identified about $130,000,000 in general fund savings through program efficiencies, utilization adjustments and reduced training and operating costs. The budget also contains four budget notes emphasizing wage transparency for direct care workers, new payment‑rate methodologies in aging and disability programs, and enhanced safety and regulatory oversight for residential facilities. The agency’s performance‑measure requests were approved, and the human services subcommittee recommended the bill be amended by the dash‑2 amendment and reported out to pass as amended.

Representative Evans highlighted the Oregon Health Authority’s Office of Resilience and Emergency Management and praised DHS’s role during heat and fire incidents, noting the agency’s work with local jurisdictions on safe sheltering. Gregory Jolovet of the Legislative Fiscal Office described the agency’s cost‑containment tools, including a payment‑recoveries function that pursues overpayments and eligibility checks to ensure benefits are provided to eligible recipients.

Representative Smith criticized the format used to present the large budget to the committee, calling the summary too brief given the $23 billion scale and listed a long series of informational and public hearings that preceded the work session — a record the speaker said detailed multiple hearings in March and April and a prior work session on June 5. Other members commended LFO’s work in condensing the budget for committee review and noted specific investments such as supports for youth experiencing homelessness.

The human services subcommittee recommendation was moved and approved; the transcript records an objection from one member during the vote sequence but the chair declared the motion passed and the bill reported out to the full committee.

Motion recorded: “Senate Bill 55‑26 be amended by the dash‑2 amendment and be reported out to pass as amended.” Outcome: approved/passed (reported out to the full committee).