April 05, 2023
INSIDE L ocaL N ews
Page 3
Health Benefits
Could End For Some
Arts &
page 7-8
ENTERTAINMENT
c Lassified /B ids
pages 4, 9-10
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Renewal notices will be sent to all OHP members within the next ten months in hopes of keeping
those eligblie up to date
Oregon to
review health
coverage for 1 in
3 state residents
The Oregon Health Authority
(OHA) will review income eligi-
bility for approximately 1.5 mil-
lion Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
and Medicare Savings Program
(MSP) members starting April 1,
2023, after federal Public Health
Emergency (PHE) protections for
continuous eligibility will end.
State health officials urge OHP
members to review any notices
they receive from OHA about
their health benefits and respond
promptly with any requested in-
formation. State administrators
need updated information to de-
termine whether a member re-
mains eligible for coverage for
OHP and other Medicaid-funded
services and supports.
During the federally-declared
COVID-19 PHE and the OHA
extended coverage for all Oregon
Health Plan (Medicaid) members.
This extension ended on March
31.When the pandemic began, the
federal government allowed states
to keep people on Medicaid once
they became eligible. During an
historic health emergency, OHP
grew to nearly 1.5 million people,
or one in three Oregonians.
Today marks an end to the fed-
erally enhanced Medicaid cov-
erage. While most people will
continue to qualify for existing
benefits, OHA is required to re-
view eligibility for all OHP mem-
bers by mid-2024. Oregon will
begin to notify OHP members
starting in mid-April.
“We want to do everything we
can to make sure Oregon Health
Plan members stay covered as long
as they are eligible,” said OHA
Medicaid Director Dana Hittle.
“It’s important for OHP members
to keep their address up to date
with us and for people to respond
to any notices they receive. We
know this process can be stressful
for many members. We don’t want
anyone to lose health coverage be-
cause of a missed notice.”
All OHP households will re-
ceive a renewal notice over the
next ten months. It is very import-
ant that people understand that
everyone will receive a notice and
receiving a notice does not mean
that action is required. The notice
will tell members what they need
to do, or if they don’t need to do
anything at all.
If someone is determined to be
no longer eligible for OHP, they
will have 60 days before their
OHP benefits will end. State of-
ficials will work to connect peo-
ple who lose eligibility for OHP
to the Oregon Health Insurance
Marketplace to find other health
coverage. The Oregon Health
Insurance Marketplace (OHIM)
will be sending information to
people who are no longer eligible
for OHP benefits and advising of
potential coverage options and
financial help through the Mar-
ketplace. People who do not en-
roll through the Marketplace will
receive a second notice 30 days
before their Oregon Health Plan
benefits end.
The Marketplace Transition
Help Center will be available
starting April 13 to help people
understand their options, how to
transition to the Marketplace, and
to find help from local health cov-
erage experts.
“We are committed to help-
ing eligible Oregon Health Plan
members maintain their cover-
age,” said Hittle. “We don’t want
anyone to fall through the cracks.
We want to protect and expand
health coverage so more chil-
dren and adults have access to the
health care they need.”