House behavioral‑health committee advances a package of Medicaid, mental‑health and health‑care bills; schedules task force on Medicaid prioritized list

The Oregon House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care advanced a group of bills on April 3, 2025, in Hearing Room C, moving several measures to the floor or to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and carrying one bill over for additional work. Committee members held a public hearing and work sessions covering Medicaid’s prioritized list, mental‑health funding and appropriations, reimbursement rates for addiction services, licensing and registration rules for a range of providers and facilities, and infrastructure items such as a centralized credentialing portal for primary care providers.

Representative Rob Noss, who introduced the prioritized‑list bill, told the committee the proposal would establish a task force to prepare the state to meet a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) deadline. “In the most recent waiver negotiations, which were completed in 2022, the state and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare agreed to address concerns CMS identified,” Noss said. He told the committee the state has until Jan. 1, 2027, to make needed changes and must submit a detailed plan to CMS in June 2026.

Why it matters: the prioritized list governs how Oregon’s Medicaid program (Oregon Health Plan) ranks services for coverage when resources are limited; the CMS waiver that allowed Oregon’s current structure will not continue indefinitely and the committee debated how to transition that system while preserving access and a fair appeals process.

What the committee did and heard

Medicaid prioritized list (House Bill 2212) - Action: Public hearing held; the committee carried HB 2212 over to Tuesday, April 8, 2025, for further work and possible amendment. No final vote was taken on April 3. - Key points: The bill would establish a broad task force to study options for transitioning Oregon’s prioritized list into the state plan to align with CMS requirements. Representative Noss said he expects modest changes and asked the committee to appoint Representative Harbuck as task force chair. He noted stakeholders and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have been working on this since the 2022 waiver negotiation. - Testimony: Rick Blackwell, director of Oregon government relations for PacificSource Community Solutions, urged support and said the prioritized list reflects efforts to provide “clinically effective and…