In this Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, photo, Kelly Burke poses for a photo outside her home next to a sign supporting Oregon's Measure 101 in Portland, Ore. Burke has volunteered for phone banks to garner support for the measure that goes before Oregon voters on Tuesday, Jan. 23. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon voters will soon decide whether to fund the state's expansion of Medicaid and other rising health care costs with taxes on hospitals and health insurers.
Experts say the special election Tuesday is the only instance where voters -- instead of lawmakers -- will decide how to fund the Medicaid expansion among the 32 states and Washington, D.C. that added enrollees under the Affordable Care Act.
If it passes, the measure would tax hospitals and health insurers to fund Oregon's rising Medicaid costs.
It would raise $210 million to $330 million in revenue over the next two years.
Oregon added more than 350,000 people in 2014 but now has a budget hole as federal matching funds are reduced.
The unusual election has significant consequences for low-income Oregonians.
In this Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, photo, Kelly Burke walks down the steps of her home in Portland, Ore., past several lawn signs, one at far left supporting Oregon's Measure 101. Burke has volunteered for phone banks to garner support for the measure that goes before Oregon voters on Tuesday, Jan. 23. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
The Associated Press
In this Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, photo a sign in support of Oregon's Measure 101 is displayed by a homeowner along a roadside in Lake Oswego, Ore. Experts say the special election Tuesday in Oregon is the only instance where voters -- instead of lawmakers -- will decide how to fund the Medicaid expansion among the 32 states and Washington that added enrollees under the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
The Associated Press