U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra Visits Aug. 4

The top federal health care official will spotlight the need to expand the state’s mental health workforce.

Sec. Xavier Becerra
By Nigel Jaquiss

Xavier Becerra, secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services will visit the metro area Aug. 4.

Becerra, the former California attorney general, will take part in a roundtable discussion at Tigard High School on Friday morning. The topic of the roundtable, which will include U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), is the development and retention of Oregon’s behavioral health workforce.

Oregon has struggled mightily to provide adequate services to people experiencing mental illness. The organization Mental Health America again highlighted Oregon’s dire condition in its 2023 rankings, showing the state combines the highest prevalence of mental illness of any state with a relatively low level (30th) of access to care.

Over the past two years, Oregon lawmakers have appropriated $80 million to attract and retain workers in the field. Becerra’s agency, which oversees federal Medicare and Medicaid funding, could do a lot to help.

The roundtable starts at 9 am and will last an hour.



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