| The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act |
 |
|
 |
| What it means for Oregon |
|
|
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
What it means for Oregon
Health Care - Human Services:
The ARRA provides an estimated $87 billion over the next two years in additional federal matching funds to help states maintain their Medicaid programs and provides a 60% subsidy for COBRA premiums for unemployed workers up to 9 months.
In Oregon this means…
Family Health Insurance Assistance Program (FHIAP): ARRA provides $830 million of increased Medicaid funds retroactive to October 1, 2008. This includes an additional increase based on unemployment rate. FHIAP anticipates receiving approximately $3.9 million of these funds. This ARRA funding will allow FHIAP to maintain services to about 3,000 Oregonians in the current budget period who may otherwise have been disenrolled from the program, and preserves funding for approximately 1,200 enrollees each month in the 2009-11 biennium.
Health Insurance Assistance: Oregonians who have lost their job (between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009) and worked for a business that offered health insurance are eligible for federal health insurance premium assistance beginning on March 1, 2009. The total number of employees at the business defines if assistance is provided through COBRA or the state health insurance continuation program. Under this version of COBRA, the employee pays 35% of the health insurance premium and the employer pays 65% for up to nine months. For those already in the FHIAP program, it means the state will subsidize the smaller employee portion of insurance, making funding available to cover more FHIAP members.
For the state health insurance continuation program, the ratios are the same, but the coverage lasts for six months.
The employer is reimbursed by the federal government in the form of a credit against their payroll taxes or as a refund.
Because FHIAP provides premium subsidies for members who become COBRA eligible while in the program, there may be a short-term decrease in the funding needed for those FHIAP members who are eligible for the ARRA assistance. It’s unknown at this time how many members may be impacted by this part of the ARRA.
Agency Contact Info:
Kelly Harms
Office of Private Health Partnerships
250 Church Street SE, Suite 200
Salem, OR 97301-3921
(503) 378-2503
kelly.r.harms@state.or.us
Federal Contact Info:
Barbara Richards, Associate Regional Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Region X
2201 6th Avenue, Suite 801
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 615-2326
SEARODMCH@cms.hhs.gov
For more information about the the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, visit:
For more information about Go Oregon! bid procedures may be found on the state's procurement Web site: http://www.oregon.gov/recovery/GoOregon.shtml.
|
|
|
|
