Wyden Asks Dr. Oz to Come to Eastern Oregon on June 20 Before Any Senate Vote on Republican Budget Bill
Senator says in second request of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator to visit Malheur County that budget bill’s devastating impact on Medicaid in one of Oregon’s poorest counties demands Trump official hear directly from rural Oregonians
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., again asked Dr. Mehmet Oz to honor his commitment to join him in Malheur County so the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator could hear directly about Medicaid’s importance in the county with Oregon’s highest share of residents enrolled in the federal-state program that helps seniors, children, families and more cover medical and home care costs.
Wyden’s fresh request for a June 20 visit by Dr. Oz during the upcoming Senate state work period follows his April 3 request that Dr. Oz join him in Malheur County for local feedback on Medicaid – known in Oregon as the Oregon Health Plan -- on April 23 during that Senate state work period, or between June 19-21. Wyden wrote Dr. Oz today that Donald Trump’s insistence for congressional Republicans to deliver him a budget by July 4 makes an Oz visit to rural Eastern Oregon paramount.
“Because Trump has demanded Congressional Republicans send him this bill to sign no later than July 4, 2025, I am compelled to arrange this important visit as soon as possible so you can hear directly from Eastern Oregon how this legislation would devastate rural life,” wrote Wyden. “Senate Republicans appear committed to this rushed timeline, even willing to bypass long-standing procedures to refine policies and solicit public input, despite Senate Democrats’ requests. There is good reason to fear Senate Republicans will jam through the largest health care cuts in the nation’s history. House Republicans wrote this disastrous bill entirely behind closed doors, voting on every procedural step, including final passage, in the dark of night.”
Wyden noted in his letter that Trump and Republicans are eager to hide the ugly realities of their budget bill with its cuts topping $1 trillion that would end health coverage for almost 11 million Americans, all to “ladle out tax handouts to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.”
“It’s clear you intend to do the same, going so far as to blatantly lie to the American people. Asked about the Republican bill, you responded, “We’re not cutting Medicaid…There is no proposal I’ve seen, in fact, in fairness, that doesn’t increase spending on Medicaid,” Wyden wrote the administrator. “The independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms the House-passed bill cuts federal spending on the Medicaid program by more than $800 billion. These cuts will kick almost 135,000 Oregonians off of the Oregon Health Plan.”
With more than half of Malheur County residents enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, Wyden said it’s clear Dr. Oz would be well served by face-to-face conversations with the residents of this community for whom Medicaid is a lifeline.
“The time for that conversation is now, before Trump and Congressional Republicans exact devastating health care cuts to line the pockets of their billionaire buddies and corporate interests,” Wyden wrote.
The entire letter is here.
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