Thousands Enter Health Plan Drawing

By Don Colburn, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Jan. 29–Low-income Oregon adults who want a shot at newly available state health insurance coverage got their first opportunity Monday to start the two-step application process.

More than 7,000 had signed up by 4:30 p.m., most by phone, said Jim Sellers, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services.

To have a chance at coverage, people must get their names on a reservation list by the end of February. A computer will randomly draw names from the list, and those selected will receive an application for the Oregon Health Plan’s Standard benefit package.

The drawing is necessary because state officials expect many more applicants than available slots. The first 3,000 applications will be mailed in March.

Sellers said the Human Services Department redirected extra staff Monday to handle the barrage of calls from people hoping to get on the list. Officials had set up 60 phone lines.

“Some people did get a busy signal,” he said. “Our goal is that people won’t get a busy signal (today).”

Sellers urged callers who don’t get through at first to keep trying. Anyone who gets on the reservation list by Feb. 29 has an equal chance at being chosen, he said.

The Oregon Health Plan is accepting new enrollees for its OHP Standard benefit package for the first time since mid-2004. Enrollment has fallen to 19,000 from a peak of nearly 132,000.

Coverage under OHP Standard is open to uninsured adults living below the official poverty line — for example, with an annual income of less than $21,200 for a family of four. Enrollees pay monthly premiums of zero to $20, depending on income and family size.

There are several ways to get on the reservation list:

Online: Go to www.oregon.gov/DHS/open. Select “request form” and complete and submit the application.

Pick up a form at a DHS office, complete it and return it to any DHS office or mail it to Oregon Health Plan, P.O. Box 14520, Salem, OR 97309-5044.

Call 800-699-9075 or (Salem residents: 503-378-2666) weekdays, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The call takes 10 to 20 minutes.

E-mail the required information to standard.reservation@state.or.us.

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

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