Oregon has determined it awarded Medicaid health benefits to more than 37,000 people during the past year who earned too much money or otherwise failed to qualify, new figures show.
That high number represents nearly half the Medicaid recipients whose incomes the state rechecked this spring and summer. It has come to light as the state health authority works through a backlog of eligibility checks caused by technology problems and the spike in enrollment under the Affordable Care Act.
The count surpasses predictions to the Legislature by agency director Lynne Saxton, who pegged the number at 32,000. And it almost certainly will climb higher, as the agency has another 31,000 cases still to check.
Historically, around 28 percent of Oregonians on Medicaid no longer qualify for the program at annual check-ins. Now, as Oregon works through its backlog, the rate of people being deemed ineligible is closer to 45 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
