Health

Resigning Oregon Health Authority Director Will Get No Severance Payout, State Says

Dr. Sejal Hathi’s brief tenure is set to end Aug. 1.

By Andrew Schwartz
Dr. Sejal Hathi. (Oregon Health Authority video)

Dr. Sejal Hathi is not set to receive any severance payout connected to her Aug. 1 resignation as leader of the Oregon Health Authority, state officials said Friday.

“There is no additional compensation or severance agreement tied to her resignation,” a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Administrative Services told WW.

There have been numerous cases in recent months of high-level public employees in Oregon getting large payouts on the public dime when they leave their positions. The resigning CEO of Portland’s housing authority, for example, got a $171,000 severance package. Portland City Administrator Bob Cozzie got $275,000 in severance.

Gov. Tina Kotek announced Hathi’s resignation on Thursday, marking the end of a brief and difficult tenure for the young leader atop a sprawling agency that shapes the Oregon health care ecosystem in matters large and small.

Hathi took the helm in January 2024 with a contract stipulating a salary of $18,489 a month—or $221,868, according to the employment contract as well as a state salary database. The listed salary for the OHA chief in the 2025 fiscal year was $265,588. Notably, numerous employees of the agency make quite a bit more.

Andrew Schwartz

Andrew Schwartz

Andrew Schwartz writes about health care. He's spent years reporting on political and spiritual movements, most recently covering religion and immigration for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and before this as a freelancer covering labor and public policy for various magazines. He began his career at the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

Willamette Week’s reporting has real-life impact that changes laws, forces action by civic leaders, and drives compromised politicians from public office.

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