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Deputy Director Dana Hittle” “Finding Hope in a Hard Chapter”
Season 1, Episode 33: Dec. 15, 2025
28 min, 12 sec.
What’s inside The Big Picture
This week, The Big Picture heads to the Barbara Roberts Building in Salem for a conversation with Acting Deputy Director Dana Hittle — the “Medicaid whisperer” whose work sits at the center of some of ODHS’ most complex decisions. Dana talks about Medicaid as a living structure that shapes who gets care and who risks falling through the cracks, and what it’s like to lead through HR1: shifting federal guidance, new work requirements, and rules that can leave even experts saying, “Wait…what?”
She explains how those changes land with OEP workers and frontline staff, and what they mean for Oregon families navigating a safety net under strain. Dana describes Oregon’s decades of work building a compassionate Medicaid infrastructure, and why the focus now is on mitigating harm and preserving the foundation so it can be rebuilt when conditions change. She also shares her own path as a self-described “accidental leader” and “planned bureaucrat,” and why she chooses to stay in Oregon public service: a belief that government exists to help people, not to say no. The episode also includes a lighthearted holiday message celebrating the ODHS “North Pole heroes” working through the season.
Our Celebrity PSA: A holiday wish with a long “Elf” life (15:05)
Credits Hosts: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe — Communications and Shenika — Community Partnership Coordinator, District 10
Produced by: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe
Contact: Questions / feedback: [email protected]
View all episodes
By Oregon Department of Human ServicesSeason 1, Episode 33: Dec. 15, 2025
28 min, 12 sec.
What’s inside The Big Picture
This week, The Big Picture heads to the Barbara Roberts Building in Salem for a conversation with Acting Deputy Director Dana Hittle — the “Medicaid whisperer” whose work sits at the center of some of ODHS’ most complex decisions. Dana talks about Medicaid as a living structure that shapes who gets care and who risks falling through the cracks, and what it’s like to lead through HR1: shifting federal guidance, new work requirements, and rules that can leave even experts saying, “Wait…what?”
She explains how those changes land with OEP workers and frontline staff, and what they mean for Oregon families navigating a safety net under strain. Dana describes Oregon’s decades of work building a compassionate Medicaid infrastructure, and why the focus now is on mitigating harm and preserving the foundation so it can be rebuilt when conditions change. She also shares her own path as a self-described “accidental leader” and “planned bureaucrat,” and why she chooses to stay in Oregon public service: a belief that government exists to help people, not to say no. The episode also includes a lighthearted holiday message celebrating the ODHS “North Pole heroes” working through the season.
Our Celebrity PSA: A holiday wish with a long “Elf” life (15:05)
Credits Hosts: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe — Communications and Shenika — Community Partnership Coordinator, District 10
Produced by: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe
Contact: Questions / feedback: [email protected]