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@OHAOregon
February 21, 2024
Media contacts:
Erica Heartquist, 503-871-8843 erica.heartquist@oha.oregon.gov
Jake Sunderland, Oregon Department of Human Services, Jake.Sunderland@odhs.oregon.gov, 503-877-0170
More than one million people are keeping their Oregon Health Plan benefits due to Oregon’s efforts to expand coverage options
SALEM, Ore. — With more than 85 percent of the state’s 1.5 million renewals complete, 5 out of 6 Oregonians are keeping their Oregon Health Plan (OHP) or other Medicaid benefits.
Oregon’s 85 percent renewal rate continues to be the second highest in a national comparison of state renewal rates by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization. KFF analysis also shows Oregon also has saved more people from unnecessary renewal paperwork than any other state via the automated renewal process. Oregon’s high renewal rates are also due to proactive efforts by the state to keep people covered, such as structuring the renewal schedule, extended response timelines, and the upcoming OHP Bridge program for adults with higher incomes.
During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), the federal government allowed states to keep people on Medicaid benefits. This ended when the pandemic emergency ended, and since April 2023 Oregon has been making sure everyone on OHP is still eligible.
At this point in the PHE unwinding process, Oregon has sent the initially planned 10 waves of renewal letters. About 6 percent of members are still responding to those initial waves. The remaining renewals, about 8 percent of the total, will occur over the summer.
Members who have not received a renewal yet should:
Anyone concerned they missed their letter should get help with their renewal via one of the ways to find help listed below.
Although most people are keeping coverage, approximately 200,000 people will lose or have reduced OHP benefits and need to consider other coverage options.
On February 13, the federal government approved Oregon’s plan for the remaining roughly 107,000 renewals.
Many of these renewals were affected by a federal request for more than 30 states to review automated renewal processes, or restorations of some Oregon Supplemental Income Program Medical (OSIPM) benefits. A May 2024 update to Oregon’s automated renewal process will enable Oregon to use the new process for the remaining renewals.
Renewal letters will be sent to members in four waves between June and September. Members will still receive 90 days to respond, and 60 days’ advance notice before any termination or reduction in benefits. This means the final responses would be due in December 2024, and the final closures will happen in February 2025.
In the meantime, data about these renewals does not appear in the Medical Redeterminations Dashboard. For consistency, data below continues to use the December total number of members affected by unwinding.
As of Feb. 17, 2024, 1,241,196 people have completed the renewal process. This represents 85.3 percent of all OHP and Medicaid members.
The large number of OHP renewals, along with renewals of long-term services and supports, may cause greater wait times, delays, and possible interruptions to people’s OHP benefits. The fastest way members can provide an update is by going to benefits.oregon.gov and logging into their ONE online account.
If you need to sign up for Medicare for the first time, contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 800-772-1213 to enroll by phone or find a local office. You can also enroll in Medicare online at ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) are committed to transparency and will continue to send monthly information about medical coverage among Oregonians as the agencies continue to track the programs. Check our ONE Eligibility Operations Dashboards for more frequent updates on medical renewal data and wait times for callers to the ONE Customer Service Center.
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