Mr. Walden, the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is not just another backbench Republican dealing with suddenly energized supporters of the health law at town hall-style meetings. The lanky 60-year-old congressman will have a large role in drafting promised legislation to replace former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement and a huge say in decisions about the future of Medicaid, which the health law greatly expanded.
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As a former chairman of the committee responsible for electing Republicans to the House, Mr. Walden knows the politics of health care as well as anyone. But in his new role, he must reconcile the political goals of his party, which is committed to repealing the 2010 health law, and the interests of his state, where officials say the law has been a big success. In 2010, nearly one in five Oregonians lacked health coverage. Today, state officials say, 95 percent of Oregonians have coverage.
Since Oregon expanded eligibility for Medicaid under the health law in 2014, enrollment has increased more than 65 percent. Nearly one-fourth of the state’s four million residents are now on Medicaid.
In Mr. Walden’s district, the percentages are even higher. In some of his rural counties, more than one-third of the people are on Medicaid. President Trump easily carried those counties. Mr. Walden won a 10th term in the fall with 72 percent of the vote and was victorious in every one of the 20 counties in his district, which is about the size of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut combined.
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