A sweeping statewide audit has handed Oregon’s health and transportation agencies a stinging review, spotlighting serious problems in how the state runs two major federal programs. The Oregon Health Authority’s Basic Health Program, known as OHP Bridge, and the Oregon Department of Transportation’s highway program were both flagged for eligibility and system failures that led to millions in questioned or improper payments. Auditors also said weak recordkeeping at ODOT left them unable to verify compliance on large projects, putting both agencies under pressure to tighten controls and reassure federal officials that Oregon can track every dollar.
Single Audit: overall results and scope
The Oregon Secretary of State’s Audits Division released the Statewide Single Audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. According to the Statewide Single Audit, the state’s financial statements as a whole received an unmodified opinion, the clean outcome every state hopes for. Under the hood, though, auditors issued an adverse opinion on the Basic Health Program and a disclaimer of opinion on the Highway Planning and Construction program. The report lays out multiple material weaknesses and significant deficiencies and includes a detailed schedule of findings and questioned costs.
What went wrong with OHP Bridge
Auditors traced key problems in the Basic Health Program, or OHP Bridge, to the eligibility rules built into the state’s ONE eligibility system. As reported by KATU, a coding issue in ONE let some people whose incomes fell below the program’s lower threshold receive benefits, which produced about $8 million in improper payments. A separate failure to cut off benefits for people whose incomes rose above 200% of the federal poverty level resulted in a projected $7 million in questionable payments and an estimated 3.8% error rate. KATU also notes that the audit put the BHP population in the tens of thousands, meaning the state’s cleanup work will not be quick or small.
OHA response and disputed costs
The audit includes a written response from OHA leadership acknowledging the errors and stating that the agency had already put interim fixes and updated staff training in place after identifying problems in 2025. In the same report, the state agreed with the auditors’ recommendations but pushed back on the size of the price tag, saying it “does not agree with the SOS’s questioned costs” and arguing that the extrapolation method used by auditors did not match the state’s own analysis. The Statewide Single Audit also notes that OHA has submitted a system change request and updated guidance for eligibility workers. See the Statewide Single Audit for the full corrective action plans and timelines from the agencies.
Why ODOT drew a disclaimer
Auditors said ODOT’s accounting setup did not allow them to isolate expenditures for a single fiscal year across roughly 1,700 projects, which meant they could not gather enough reliable evidence to test several key compliance requirements. Because of that limitation, they issued a disclaimer of opinion for the Highway Planning and Construction program. As reported by KATU, ODOT told the station it is improving its tracking systems, building new reporting tools, and tightening oversight so future federal reports can be fully audited. Auditors recommended that the department put controls in place to track expenditures by specific federal award and to produce fiscal year reporting tailored to audit needs.
What comes next
The audit recommends that OHA identify everyone affected by the ONE system errors and return any non-permissible payments to the Basic Health Program trust where required. It also calls on ODOT to implement reporting controls so each federal draw can be clearly matched to fiscal year expenditures for compliance testing. Both agencies agreed with the recommendations and provided timelines for corrective action. The Secretary of State’s office plans to monitor how those fixes roll out, and federal grantors could seek additional remediation or repayment if the problems are not resolved to their satisfaction.
