Oregon Health Plan To Enroll New Members Using Lottery System
Oregon in March -- for the first time in more than three years -- will begin accepting new beneficiaries in its Oregon Health Plan, the Oregonian reports. The state will use a lottery system to enroll 2,000 eligible applicants per month for 11 months. The new enrollment will not expand the program but will fill positions lost to attrition since the program froze enrollment in 2004.
Karen House, a medical director with the state Department of Human Services, said that about 19,000 people currently are enrolled in the program and that the program can enroll up to 32,000 beneficiaries and still maintain budget solvency. House said more than 100,000 uninsured Oregon residents are eligible for the program. Eligibility is restricted to state residents ages 19 to 65 who do not qualify for Medicaid and have incomes less than the federal poverty level (Graves, Oregonian, 1/8).
