Oregon Public Broadcasting

2000 more Oregonians were selected Monday to sign up for the Oregon Health Plan. The state relies on a lottery system that is gradually building enrollment. April Baer reports.

Since the state had to start limiting enrollment for money reasons, the occasional lotteries have allowed a lucky few access to basic primary care visits, limited hospital and dental coverage, as well as some mental health and addiction treatment.

Judy Mohr Peterson, the state’s deputy director for medical assistance programs, says the list included about 60,000 wanting to enroll, before the drawing.

Judy Mohr Peterson:  “That reduced it down to about 58,000. About 19,000 folks actually came from our original reservation list that we had in 2008.”

That means they’ve been waiting all this time for enrollment slots to open.

Thanks to a new tax on hospitals, DHS will step up these drawings through the year. The goal is to try to get everyone on the list covered by July 2011.