Oregon is pressing ahead with a controversial initiative that allocates more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer funds to provide full health-care coverage for illegal immigrants, including those residing in the country illegally.
The plan, known as Healthier Oregon, removes immigration and citizenship status as a factor in determining eligibility for the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).
According to the Oregon Health Authority, the rule—which took effect July 1, 2023—grants comprehensive medical, dental, mental health and prescription benefits to anyone meeting income and residency criteria, regardless of legal status.
The state’s website notes, “Starting July 1, 2023, immigration/citizenship status no longer affects whether someone qualifies for OHP [Full Oregon Health Plan].”
The policy has drawn sharp backlash from fiscal watchdogs and law enforcement officials who say the state’s spending priorities are dangerously misplaced.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin criticized the plan’s scale, calling Oregon’s budget “absurd” for devoting far more to free health care for noncitizens than to public safety.
“Oregon will spend $500 million+ MORE on free health care for immigrants regardless of legal status than on state police in its current budget period,” McLaughlin wrote on X, noting that only $717 million was budgeted for law enforcement.
McLaughlin added that Oregon’s two-year spending framework for 2025–2027 commits roughly $1.5 billion in state and federal taxpayer money to cover immigrant health care—nearly double what the state plans to spend on its entire public-safety system.
Her comments intensified criticism that Oregon’s leadership is favoring illegal immigrants over residents as crime and emergency response costs continue to climb.
Oregon’s decision to expand coverage stands in contrast to a growing retreat in other Democrat-led states that once touted similar programs.
Breitbart News reports that during the Biden administration, several blue states extended taxpayer-funded medical coverage to illegal immigrants, but soaring costs have forced many to reconsider.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) pledge to offer universal coverage to illegal immigrants ballooned into an $8.5 billion annual expense, according to the National Review.
The surge in enrollees has overwhelmed the system, leading to longer wait times and a freeze on new applicants as the state scales back benefits.
Illinois has also begun reversing course.
After years of expanding eligibility under its migrant health program, Gov. JB Pritzker’s (D) administration was forced to roll back coverage amid a $3.2 billion budget deficit that left the system financially unsustainable.
Minnesota’s MinnesotaCare program faced a similar reality, with Governor Tim Walz announcing significant reductions following major budget overruns.
Despite those examples, Oregon has refused to retreat.
State officials insist that extending coverage regardless of immigration status ensures “equity in health access” and is a moral obligation, even as critics warn that it drains funding from core services like policing, education and infrastructure.
Since illegal immigrants do not qualify for federal Medicaid reimbursement, Oregon must fund nearly all costs at the state level.
Analysts warn that as enrollment and demand increase, the financial burden could swell dramatically, leaving taxpayers to absorb the difference.
For now, Oregon stands alone—pressing forward with its taxpayer-funded health plan even as other blue states pull back under mounting fiscal pressure.
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