78 people in Linn will get the material

State officials plan Tuesday to mail the final 3,000 applications for "standard benefits" under the Oregon Health Plan, the Department of Human Services announced today.

The move caps the process of enrolling several thousand low-income adults in the benefit package, begun last winter when a reservation list was opened.

The 3,000 OHP-Standard applications will go to low-income adults in all 36 counties.

The 10 counties whose residents will receive the largest numbers are Multnomah (730), Lane (330), Marion (221), Washington (220), Clackamas (169), Jackson (161), Douglas (140), Josephine (127), Deschutes (93) and Linn (78).

A state computer randomly drew their names from the reservation list, on which more than 91,000 names were placed in January and February.

OHP-Standard had been closed to new enrollment since mid-2004 after provider taxes on large hospitals and Medicaid managed-care plans were substituted for state general funds; the program was subsequently limited to a monthly average of 24,000 adults.

The program was reopened to limited new enrollment this year after the number of people covered fell to fewer than 18,000.

"We worked with health care advocates and partners to come up with the fairest way to enroll several thousand people in a program for which tens of thousands of Oregon adults would qualify," said Jim Edge, state Medicaid director for DHS.

The state has estimated approximately 140,000 low-income Oregon adults are eligible. The method - randomly drawing names from a highly publicized reservation list that accepted names for five weeks - was approved by the federal government, which provides more than 60 percent of Medicaid dollars that fund the Oregon Health Plan and must approve major changes in what still is a health care demonstration project. The Oregon Health Plan began in 1994.

Tuesday's mailing will bring to 30,000 the number of OHP-Standard applications sent out since March 5. So far, 6,500 Oregonians have been found eligible for coverage as a result of returning the applications.

OHP-Standard accounts for roughly 5 percent of the Oregon Health Plan, which covers approximately 430,000 low-income Oregonians.

The Oregon Health Plan's larger Plus benefit package is always open to low-income people who are; 65 or older; blind; disabled; pregnant; younger than 19; or who qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Applications for OHP-Plus are available by calling (800) 359-9517 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.

Democrat-Herald