We are grateful for the Governor’s commitment to OHSU, the state’s only public academic health center. We know Governor Brown faced difficult choices in this budget and we applaud her efforts to limit reductions in public education during this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

Oregonians - especially those furthest from opportunity - are struggling and maintaining access to critical health care services through the Oregon Health Plan is essential to Oregon’s communities. We believe it is critically important that the legislature prioritize investments in essential health care services. 

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of public health and health services so that the need to invest has never been greater—that includes investing in research to address current and future health care crises, and investing to educate future providers. As such, reductions in state funding for OHSU education, research, and health care programs would have a lasting negative impact on services to Oregonians, education of our state’s health care workforce and Oregon’s ability to address future public health crises.

We look forward to partnering with Governor Brown and the Oregon Legislature to ensure the state’s 2021-23 budget not only maintains investment in OHSU’s critical programs and services but also reflects the investments necessary to continue meeting the challenges of the health crisis before us.