February 3, 2010: The state of Oregon has begun expanding the pool from which names of low-income adults are randomly drawn for enrollment in state-subsidized insurance coverage through the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), for which they are eligible through a 1115 Medicaid expansion waiver. The drawings, which began on February 1st, will be held each month until OHP enrollment increases by 35,000.
Oregon's 2009 Legislature approved a new 1 percent tax on hospital revenues in order to fund this OHP coverage expansion. The hospital tax is expected to raise approximately $307 million, which will leverage an additional $550 million in federal funds.
It is estimated that there are 140,000 low-income adult Oregonians without health insurance whose incomes qualify for OHP. Without sufficient funding to cover everyone eligible, the state decided in 2008 to institute a lottery system to determine who gets to enroll. Oregon is currently the only state that uses such a system.
Under its SHAP grant from HRSA, SHADAC is providing technical assistance to Oregon in evaluating various aspects of its 2009 health reforms. Click here to link to a PDF detailing Oregon's SHAP evaluation.