House GOP asks Feds to investigate OHA health care $$ misuse

By Oregon House Republicans Caucus
March 24, 2025

Today a group of Oregon House Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to assist her in defending President Trump against Washington v. Trump and the efforts to block President Trump’s Executive Order to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation.

The letter included data provided to the legislature last year by the Oregon Health Authority. The data proves that contrary to the plaintiff’s specious claim, these procedures are being performed on children in Oregon.

The letter also requests a federal investigation into Oregon’s use of Medicaid funds. The Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan now covers abortion, needle exchanges, air conditioners, food, free housing, and so-called “gender-affirming” procedures.

In the letter, the lawmakers accuse the Oregon Health Authority of concealing the extent of taxpayer-funded procedures on minors and suppressing internal findings that show no evidence of benefit.

Between 2019 and 2023, 26 genital surgeries were performed on Oregon minors, according to insurance data analyzed by the medical advocacy organization Do No Harm.

“This is state-sponsored medical experimentation on kids, paid for with your tax dollars,” said House Health Care Committee member Representative Ed Diehl (R-Stayton). “And when OHA’s own commission found no evidence to justify it, they buried the report.”

“It’s a clear misuse of Medicaid funds,” said House Health Care Committee member Rep. Darin Harbick (R-Rainbow). “The DOJ needs to act—this isn’t health care, it’s political ideology masquerading as medicine.”

The lawmakers are backing House Bill 3338, which would force the state to publish science-based reviews of these procedures.

Former House Health Care Committee member Dwayne Yunker (R-Grants Pass) added: “Oregon is turning Medicaid into a political slush fund. It’s time for accountability.”