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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 2537
Introduced and printed pursuant to House Rule 12.00. Presession filed (at the request of House Interim Committee
on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans for Representative Thuy Tran)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act creates the Veterans Waiver Program. (Flesch Readability Score: 66.7).
Establishes the Veterans Waiver Program in the Oregon Health Authority to provide, beginning
in 2026, medical assistance to low-income veterans who reside in Oregon.
Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2025.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to veterans; creating new provisions; amending ORS 406.140; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section:
(a) “Medical assistance” has the meaning given that term in ORS 414.025.
(b) “Veteran” means an individual who is a veteran, as defined in ORS 408.225, except the
individual may be discharged or released under honorable or other than honorable conditions.
(2) The Veterans Waiver Program is established in the Oregon Health Authority to pro-
vide medical assistance to veterans who are residing in Oregon.
(3) An individual is eligible for the Veterans Waiver Program if the individual:
(a) Is a resident of Oregon;
(b) Has income that is at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and
(c) Is a veteran.
(4) The authority shall:
(a) Prescribe by rule a simple application process for the Veterans Waiver Program.
(b) Provide assistance in person, by telephone or by online chat to applicants for and
enrollees in the program.
(c) Require and accept as verification of eligibility:
(A) Documentation demonstrating that an applicant’s income is at or below 400 percent
of the federal poverty guidelines.
(B) An applicant’s federal DD Form 214 or 215.
SECTION 2. ORS 406.140 is amended to read:
406.140. There is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund,
the Veterans’ Services Fund, to be administered by the Oregon Department of Administrative Ser-
vices. Interest earned by the fund is credited to the fund.Pursuant to Article XV, section 4f, of the
Oregon Constitution, one and one-half percent of the net proceeds from the Oregon State Lottery
shall be deposited in the Veterans’ Services Fund. All moneys transferred from the State Lottery
Fund and all other moneys authorized to be transferred to the Veterans’ Services Fund from what-
ever source are appropriated continuously to provide services for the benefit of veterans, including
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 3585 HB2537
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medical assistance under section 1 of this 2025 Act.
SECTION 3. (1) The provision of medical assistance through the Veterans Waiver Pro-
gram established under section 1 of this 2025 Act shall begin on January 1, 2026.
(2) The Oregon Health Authority shall accept applications to enroll in the Veterans
Waiver Program beginning no later than November 1, 2025.
SECTION 4.Notwithstanding any other law limiting expenditures, the amount of $_______
is established for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, as the maximum limit for payment of
expenses from lottery moneys allocated from the Veterans’ Services Fund established under
ORS 406.140 to the Oregon Health Authority for implementation of section 1 of this 2025 Act.
SECTION 5. No later than July 1, 2026, the Oregon Health Authority shall estimate the
amount of funding needed to pay the costs of the Veterans Waiver Program established un-
der section 1 of this 2025 Act. If the estimated amount needed exceeds the amount of moneys
remaining in the Veterans’ Services Fund established under ORS 406.140, the authority shall
include moneys necessary to cover the costs of the Veterans Waiver Program in the
authority’s agency request budget, as described in ORS 291.208.
SECTION 6.Section 5 of this 2025 Act is repealed on January 2, 2027.
SECTION 7.This 2025 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2025 Act takes effect
July 1, 2025.
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