Legislative Update from Cascadia – Feb. 2024

Last month, Oregon’s 83rd Legislative Assembly convened for the 2025 Legislative Session. As session moves into its fifth week, Cascadia Health continues to monitor key issues and bills that impact our work and industry.

In December, Governor Kotek proposed a robust budget centered around key issues, including houselessness, education, and behavioral health, including $90 million proposed by the Governor’s office to be invested in infrastructure to expand access to residential behavioral health care, among other infrastructure proposals.

Cascadia is also supporting proposed investments to increase and better support the current workforce, including House Bill (HB) 2024 which will be amended to do the following:

• Increase the United We Heal trust by $5 million.
• Create a statewide grant pool of $20 million (for which Cascadia would be eligible), that would bolster workforce incentives like sign-on and retention bonuses, housing support, childcare support, scholarships, and loan repayment.
• Create a $20 million increase in reimbursement for providers who serve the highest acuity individuals and operate outpatient or residential settings.

Workforce safety continues to be a priority for Cascadia. As a result of efforts stemming from 2024 short session, Cascadia received two appointments to the legislature’s Taskforce on Improving the Safety of Behavioral Health Workers. Ahead of this year’s session, that Taskforce submitted recommendations for a new safety plan that will be developed by providers. Cascadia anticipates this legislation will be introduced in the coming weeks. In addition, Cascadia is anticipating the introduction of legislation that seeks to reevaluate current requirements for providers who operate residential mental health settings with the goal of improving operations and safety within these settings.

Cascadia Health will continue to monitor the session as bills are introduced. Stay tuned for further updates as the session progresses.