Oregon Health Authority director Sejal Hathi resigns as agency faces steep challenges

Last Thursday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced she had accepted the resignation of the director of the Oregon Health Authority, Dr. Sejal Hathi. As OPB reported, Hathi wrote to OHA employees that she was leaving to focus on her family, health and “personal priorities” without mentioning what she plans to do next. In May, the New York Times published an op-ed Hathi wrote about the lack of postpartum care in the U.S. new mothers such as herself receive, even after complications from childbirth. Kotek appointed Hathi in November 2023, making her the first person from outside of Oregon to lead the agency. Hathi is also a part-time assistant clinical professor at Stanford University’s medical school, a position she has held while leading OHA.Hathi is leaving OHA at the end of this month amid a series of challenges facing the agency, including a nearly 5% cut to the Oregon Health Plan, the state Medicaid program that covers 1 in 3 Oregonians. OPB health reporter Amelia Templeton joins us for more details.