higher than 600,000 Oregonians are without any type of health insurance. For the uninsured a great injury or illness can have catastrophic monetary consequences. Several studies have guessed that over fifty fraction of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical reasons. The assert of Oregon is working to reduce the number of uninsured citizens by paying up to 95 percent of health insurance cost for individuals and families.

Established by the legislature in 1997 and first and foremost funded by tobacco charges, the Family Health Insurance Assistance Program now helps approximately 18000 low income people pay for health insurance.

Income eligibility is based on 185 percent of the centralized poverty line. For an individual to qualify for assistance their income cannot exceed $1511 a month. A family of four would qualify with an income of $3084 or less a month.

FHIAP categorizes clients into two groups for funding purposes: Individual- those without access to health insurance at work and Group – those whose employers do provide health insurance on the other hand the worker cannot afford the premiums.

To be eligible for a FHIAP subsidy, applicants must have been without insurance for six months, be a U.S. citizen living in Oregon, having savings and finances of less than $10,000 and not be eligible for or receiving Medicare. When determining savings and investments FHIAP does not count IRAs, automobiles or owner occupied homes. Exceptions to the six-month rule are made when the applicant is leaving the Oregon Health diary or has been on their employers insurance plan for less than 90 days.

After being allowed by FHIAP, those treated under the individual plan choose a healthcare provider on the states certified list. choices include: Kaiser Permanente, ODS, Pacific origin, BlueCross/BlueShield and several others. For those with preexisting conditions FHIAP can secure coverage through the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool. Insurance providers bill FHIAP which in turn bills the individual for their share of the premium. On a $500 month premium subsidized at 95 percent FHIAP would pay $475. Like any insurance policy FHIAP recipients are in charge for deductibles and co-pays.

Knowing that people face a bewildering array of choices in choosing a healthcare provider FHIAP approved up a toll free number where applicants can receive advice take pleasure in experts about the best insurance policy to suit there needs.

Under the group insurance plan, members trace up with their employers health plan and the premium is conveyed directly from their paychecks. FHIAP reimburses members within four days of receiving a copy of their pay stub.

Once covered, members are demandd to reapply every 12 months. throughout the 12 month coverage period FHIAP does not require briefing of any increase in income or assets.

According to FHIAP policy and legislative liaison Kelley Harms, the programs enrollment zoomed from 3400 people in 2000 to the current 18,000 in 2005. Harms attributed the increased number of people of covered to aggressive sales promotion and the infusion of federal money starting in 2002. Federal matching resources account for 72 percent of FHIAPs budget; with the state of Oregon making up the remaining 28 percent.

Currently there is no waiting list for those who can obtain insurance through their employer or their spouses employer. FHIAP is advising individual applicant that the waiting list for coverage would be up to 12 months.

Harms urges people in need of insurance coverage not to be deposit off by the possibility of a twelve month wait and to apply now. “Things change, people leave the program, and we could get more funding.” She said

How Can I Put My Mother On My Supplemental Health Insurance

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Filed under: Health Insurance

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