A little too many Oregon citizens to qualify for Medicaid may have a new government health insurance plan following a bill passed on the final day of this winter’s legislative session.
This bill creates a task force to consider options for creating so-called “bridge plans”.
It will provide basic health and dental compensation to those unregistered from the Oregon Health Program (State Medicaid Program) when their income rises.
May 18, 2021, outside the House of Representatives of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
In Oregon, Medicaid is available to adults who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty line and pregnant women who make up to 185% of the federal poverty line.
The bridge plan targets people who make up 138% to 200% of the poverty line.
This includes individuals with annual incomes of approximately $ 19,000 to $ 27,000, including cashiers, gig workers, and Oregon citizens who may be hired part-time.
According to the Oregon Department of Health, people at that income level have too much income to qualify for Medicade, but they do not have employer-provided insurance, so they frequently turn their health insurance on and off. There is a tendency.
For that population, the bridge plan will be, or potentially an alternative, to buying insurance and seeking rebate eligibility in the private market established by affordable care laws.
During the pandemic, as part of a federal public health emergency, the federal government stopped the process of excluding people from Medicaid if their income changed or if they were disqualified for any other reason. The state has been awarded additional Medicaid funding to cover the costs.
Due to its expansion during the pandemic, the number of people insured has reached a record high. The number of OHP members was slightly over 1.1 million before the pandemic, but has now increased to 1.4 million.
The bill is aggressive in making proposals, as Oregon health leaders want to implement a bridge plan before they start kicking people out of Medicaid again when federal pandemic aid is out of funding. Schedule.
The Task Force must hold its first meeting by March 31st.
The proposal is expected to be completed by September 1, 2022 at the latest.
In the House of Representatives, three Republicans joined the Democratic majority and voted on the bridge plan bill. Congressman James Heave, R-Salem; Congressman Greg Smith, R-Hepner.
In the Senate, it went through the party line.
The idea of a bridge plan was endorsed by trade unions and many physician advocates.
Some health insurance providers have warned that creating a bridge plan could undermine the existing private health insurance market.
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