One year after the end of COVID-19 pandemic emergency, Oregon is among top states keeping people covered – KTVZ

More than 1 million people keep Oregon Health Plan benefits due to efforts to expand coverage options

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) With more than 90 percent of the states 1.5 million renewals complete, more than 4 out of 5 Oregonians are keeping their Oregon Health Plan or other Medicaid benefits.

During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), which ended one year ago in April 2023, the federal government allowed states to keep people on Medicaid benefits. This ended when the pandemic emergency ended, so over the last year Oregon has been making sure everyone on OHP is still eligible.

At this point in the PHE unwinding process:

Oregons 81.8 percent renewal rate continues to be thethird highest in a national comparison of state renewal rates by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization. Oregons high renewal rates are due to proactive efforts by the state to keep people covered, including extended response timelines, and adding theupcoming OHP Bridge programfor adults with higher incomes.

Members who have not received a renewal yet should:

Although most people are keeping coverage, approximately 240,000 people will lose or have reduced medical benefits and need to consider other coverage options.

On Feb. 13, 2024, the federal government approved a revised plan for Oregons remaining 126,000 post-pandemic renewals.

Many of these renewals were affected by a federal request for more than 30 states to review automated renewal processes or restorations of someOregon Supplemental Income Program Medical (OSIPM)benefits. A May 2024 technical update to Oregons ONE Eligibility systemwill enable Oregon to use the new automatedprocess for the remaining renewals.

Renewal letters will be sent to members in four waves between June and September. Members will still have 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.

Data about pandemic unwinding renewals appears in theMedical Redeterminations Dashboard. The dashboard data and these press releases will not include renewals for OHP members who have already renewed early in the unwinding process, who are coming up for renewal again. Over time, Oregon is switching to renewing most OHP members every two years instead of annually.

As of March 19, 2024, 1,317,810 people have completed the renewal process. This represents 90.6 percent of all OHP and Medicaid members.

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 atssa.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 theprograms. Check ourONE Eligibility Operations Dashboardsfor more frequent updates on medical renewal data and wait times for callers to the ONE Customer Service Center.

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One year after the end of COVID-19 pandemic emergency, Oregon is among top states keeping people covered - KTVZ