Oregon reportedly plans to spend far more on free health care for illegal immigrants than on public safety in its current budget cycle, according to state officials and budget documents — a striking reflection of the state’s political priorities under Democratic leadership.
Between 2025 and 2027, Oregon expects to spend a combined $1.5 billion in state and federal taxpayer dollars on a program that provides full health benefits to immigrants regardless of legal status. Over the same period, the state will allocate just $717 million to the Oregon State Police.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) confirmed that $1.2 billion will come directly from state taxpayers for the program, originally called “Cover All People” and now renamed the “Healthier Oregon Program” (HOP). The federal government will provide roughly 25% of the funding, according to OHA, despite longstanding federal prohibitions on Medicaid coverage for those in the country illegally.
Supporters have portrayed the initiative as a moral and public health imperative. But critics argue it highlights a misplaced sense of priorities — expanding entitlements for illegal immigrants while law enforcement faces budget pressures amid persistent crime and homelessness.
The funding disparity illustrates Oregon’s broader shift in policy focus. The state’s spending on health coverage for illegal immigrants has skyrocketed by more than 1,100% since the program’s creation in 2021, when lawmakers capped it at $100 million. That original measure, passed during the COVID-19 pandemic under then-Gov. Kate Brown, grew out of a “racial justice council” and enjoyed support from progressive advocacy groups, unions, and hospital networks.
Since then, the program has expanded dramatically. The number of enrollees nearly doubled projections, reaching about 93,000 by late 2024 — far higher than the 55,000 the state expected. The cost of that expansion helped produce a $260 million budget shortfall at OHA last fall, according to The Lund Report, an Oregon health news outlet.
The ballooning costs also intersect with a national political fight in Washington. Congressional Democrats have reportedly demanded the rollback of Trump-era reforms that restricted federal Medicaid match rates for illegal immigrants — reforms passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) in July.
Those changes lowered the federal match rate for emergency care of illegal immigrants from 90% to 50%, aligning it with the rate provided to American citizens.
Republicans, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, have warned that undoing those reforms would cost taxpayers roughly $192 billion. “This is about accountability,” one senior GOP aide said. “Americans should not be footing a bigger bill for those who broke our laws to come here.”
Meanwhile, Oregon continues to exploit creative accounting to maximize federal dollars. The state “taxes” hospitals and Medicaid providers to inflate its state Medicaid pool — then taps federal matching funds before reimbursing those same institutions, effectively sidestepping restrictions on spending for illegal immigrants.
The contrast between policy and reality is particularly vivid in Portland, where crime and disorder persist despite city officials’ assurances that “violent crime is significantly down.” Small business owners testified before the City Council this week, describing a daily atmosphere of fear and lawlessness.
“I’ve replaced nine windows, three locks from attempted break-ins, been spit on, punched twice — once hard enough to leave a black eye,” said Steve Cook, owner of Vinyl Resting Place. “I’ve had a gun pulled on me twice. When I’m found dead in my shop, I’m gonna be like, ‘I told you so.’”
As Oregon’s leaders pour hundreds of millions into new benefits for illegal immigrants, residents like Cook say they feel increasingly abandoned — left to face the consequences of policies that prize ideology over security.
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