In Oregon, Trump’s Base Would Suffer Most From Medicaid Cuts

A freeze of Medicaid payments would disproportionately impact Wasco County. Credit: Brian Burk

On Jan. 28, officials in Oregon and across the country reacted with alarm after being shut out of the reimbursement system for Medicaid, the federal and state health care program for low-income Americans. (The federal government contributes about 70%; states pay the other 30%.)

NEW: My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night’s federal funding freeze. This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed. https://t.co/6cqzQpyOoz

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 28, 2025

Gov. Tina Kotek and Attorney General Dan Rayfield said at a joint press conference early Tuesday afternoon that they were exploring all options to preserve Medicaid and other federal payments threatened by President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

“These are Oregonians’ federal tax dollars up in the air, and the message to Washington, D.C., today is that they need to fix this now,” Kotek said.

Rayfield joined other Democratic attorneys general in suing the president in federal court in Rhode Island to block the cutoff of federal funds. On Wednesday, the judge issued a temporary restraining order, halting the cutoff for now.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration said on Jan. 29 that it would rescind its order freezing federal payments.

But the matter is far from settled. Trump and congressional Republicans have been clear about their interest in cutting federal spending. Health and human services constitute the largest share of the budget, so Medicaid programs are vulnerable.

Oregon established itself long ago as one of the states most aggressive in seeking Medicaid benefits for its residents. Today, state figures show 33.5% of Oregonians are on the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program.

But within the state, the numbers vary widely by county, from a high of 51.1% in Malheur County to a low of 22.2% in Benton County.

One reason Trump might be cautious about cutting too heavily into Medicaid: In Oregon, at least, rates of Medicaid enrollment are highest in Trump strongholds.

Here are the counties with the 10 highest rates of Medicaid enrollment, along with the share of votes that went for Trump in November. (Kamala Harris defeated him 55% to 41% in Oregon.) Just two of the top 10 Medicaid counties voted for Harris, so it’s not just Democrats like Wyden, Kotek and Rayfield who have an interest in the issue.

—This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon. Learn more at oregonjournalismproject.org.

This article appears in Jan 28, 2025 – Jan 28, 2026.

MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN

Trump is the most skilled con-man, perhaps, of all time in the United States.
He is the guy his base would LEAST likely support if they could see past their echo chamber.
“I’ll lower prices” – Nope. They will go up.
“I’ll take care of Veterans” – Nope. Gutting that program as well as Medicare/Medicaid.
“I’m the President for the people”. – Nope. He stacked his cabinet with his wealthy friends stacking the deck for all of them. He’s in bed with the richest person on the planet, a non-elected official that is going to take control of the Treasury Dept.
If this was someone wearing a BLUE tie, there would be outrage in the streets.
You just can’t make this stuff up.