GOP lawmaker may try derailing Oregon's new Medicaid tax

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker says she's launching a statewide effort to derail a critical $670 million health care tax approved last week to fund Medicaid.

Rep. Julie Parrish confirmed her plans this week to challenge House Bill 2391, a tax package on health insurers and providers the Oregon Legislature passed to sustain health coverage for more than 350,000 local Medicaid expansion recipients. It also filled a large chunk of the 2017-19 budget hole that must be resolved by end of session on July 10.

The bill is supposed to kick-in within the next three months. But as soon as Democratic Gov. Kate Brown signs it Parrish — one of the bill's most vocal critics due to its likely cost-shifts to patients during a still-unfolding controversy over Medicaid eligibility at the Oregon Health Authority — says she'll file initial paperwork to challenge the bill.

If she successfully gathers more than 58,000 signatures within that 90-day window, the fate of some Medicaid recipients' health care could be tossed back into limbo until voters have the final say next year.

Read more: http://www.heraldandnews.com/ap_news/oregon/gop-lawmaker-may-try-derailing-oregon-s-new-medicaid-tax/article_91c5b46e-50f0-552d-b5e2-5509a4e7fbde.html