The Problem
Employed Oregonians with disabilities face a difficult choice: take a pay raise or promotion and risk losing Medicaid’s essential healthcare and long-term support. Current Medicaid income and asset limits restrict our ability to advance while maintaining health and financial security, creating disparities and systemic barriers. We seek legislative change to allow Medicaid coverage for working individuals with disabilities, providing equal career opportunities, stability, independence and dignity
The Solution
In the 2025 Session, we are proposing legislation to allow Oregonians with disabilities to work, keep private insurance, and retain Medicaid for essential healthcare and LTSS by adjusting the income limits of the Employed People with Disabilities program. This change would eliminate restrictive financial limits, giving access to necessary supports alongside employment benefits. Other states, like Washington, have adopted similar programs.
REAL IMPACTS FOR EMPLOYED OREGONIANS WITH DISABILITIES
We have the chance to transform the lives of thousands of Oregonians with disabilities. This legislative fix would allow them to retain essential benefits while staying employed. Their stories matter, and this change would empower them to thrive both in work and in life.
“Because I have a disability and require daily support to live independently, I have been restricted on what I can achieve personally and professionally. As a professional, the income and asset restrictions that I must abide by to be eligible from the Medicaid buy-in program literally means I cannot advance in my career. Personally, it means I live in constant stress. It means I can’t save for the oral surgery my son needs. It means I can’t have a financial safety net for emergencies, it means I can’t save to take my children on a vacation. It means I can’t acquire assets to pass on to my children which perpetuates the cycle of financial instability and poverty across generations.”
Charina Walker
Multnomah County
“Even though I’m healthy, I have many medical and care needs otherwise I’m not able to survive. I’ve come to the point where I have a critical decision to make: do I want to be medically healthy, or do I want to be financially wealthy? Because the way things are set up right now, I can’t be both. The income and asset restrictions that are currently in place are unfair and penalize people with disabilities that want to contribute to society and work.”
Casey Moore
Jackson County
“I am now a full-time employee…yet I seemingly live a paycheck away from poverty due to asset limitations that do not allow me to have more than $5,000 in the bank and a salary that is already stunted at the higher limit of Medicaid eligibility. Because of this I live in fear of financial collapse at all times. I ask you to take a hard look at the consequences of continuing asset and earnings limitations that disincentives work for those of us with disabilities. These tactics keep important perspectives from leadership roles and decision-making tables where our unique voices have been absent for far too long.”
Brook McCall
Multnomah County
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