skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

No More Lottery for OR Health Plan Coverage

play audio
Play

Thursday, December 26, 2013   

PORTLAND, Ore. - Many Oregon adults who were uninsured and living near the poverty line used to have to sign a waiting list of thousands of names, and hope they were selected in a lottery-style drawing for health insurance. For them, the new year brings big changes.

Oregon is one of 26 states expanding its Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act. Medicaid coverage is known as the Oregon Health Plan, and up to 300,000 more people are now eligible for the coverage that starts on Jan. 1.

The lottery days are gone, says Erin Fair Taylor, director of Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) Partnership and Development for CareOregon.

"In essence, anyone who would have been income-eligible to enroll under the lottery program will now automatically be eligible to enroll in the Oregon Health Plan," explains Taylor. "There's no need for the lottery anymore, which is pretty exciting."

She adds the Oregon Health Plan expansion hasn't been plagued with the same problems as other parts of the state's healthcare reform rollout. The Department of Human Services pre-qualified many low-income individuals and families, and informed them of the expansion. More than 100,000 have responded by signing up.

Of course, the challenge to having more people with health insurance is the potential shortage of health care providers. Taylor says CareOregon and its partner CCOs anticipated this. In places like Jackson County, where one in four residents is Medicaid-eligible, they're working to convince more doctors and dentists to accept Medicaid. They're also working to make it possible for those who do, to see more patients.

"Whether it's helping them recruit additional providers, or helping them with some technology, or even in some cases, new office space or buildings, those kinds of things," says Taylor. "So, we're trying to take a creative approach, recognizing there isn't a one-size-fits-all to this, and that each community really has unique needs."

She notes there is no deadline for signing up for the Oregon Health Plan. Anyone whose income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level is eligible, which equates to an annual income of about $32,000 a year for a family of four.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021