Oregon follows in New York’s footsteps with massive healthcare expansion plan

The Oregon Health Authority is expanding Medicaid coverage to those who earn more than the federal limits.

Currently, the state grants Medicaid for 1.4 million citizens who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, but now the new OHP Bridge Plan will be expanded to benefits who earn up to 200% of the poverty level. 

The Oregon Health Authority expects to see 100,000 more residents included in Medicaid benefits by 2027. 

Oregon’s Medicaid coverage expansion follows in the footsteps of New York and Minnesota, but it is the first state to offer the coverage at no costs for the beneficiaries. 

People in the Bridge program, which expands to a person making $30,000 a year or families of four who earn $62,400 a year, will qualify for free medical, dental, and mental healthcare.

The state was granted approval by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to offer the plan under a Medicaid waiver. With the federal government covering a majority of the costs, this will take federal funding away from subsidies to people who would buy their health insurance on the federal marketplace. The state of Oregon will pick up the rest of the bill.

Oregon will receive about $500 million in federal funds to cover an average of 65,000 members per month over the next year. The state will spend $10 million to cover the remaining costs not paid for by federal funds.

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In the long run, healthcare officials say this expansion of Medicaid is cheaper since people will have the ability to treat health problems in the early stages and also receive preventive care. Those without health insurance will typically wait to see a health provider when it’s at its worst.

“We know that these higher rates of coverage are associated with better health outcomes, with greater healthcare access and with fewer health inequities, and we want to keep it that way,” Dr. Sejal Hathi, director of the health authority, said in a news conference.