Oregon’s Health Insurance Lottery

March 7, 2008

This week Oregon state will begin conducting a lottery with the prize being free health care, reports the Associated Press. Over 80,000 people have signed up to participate since January, although only 3,000 will make the cut and receive coverage under the Oregon Health Plan’s standard benefit program.

At its peak in 1995 the Oregon Health Plan covered 132,000 Oregonians, but due to a recession and the budget cuts that followed, the program was closed to newcomers in 2004. Only recently has the state managed to find the money to enroll 3,000 new members. According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, there are an estimated 600,000 people in the state who are uninsured. (The National Academy of Sciences)