Case Study of Oregon's Express Lane Eligibility Process

In September 2010, Oregon implemented an Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) partnership to support enrollment of children into Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) conducts a data match to identify children with active Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits who are not enrolled in public health insurance programs; it then mails shortened applications to families. They may complete the application and enroll by mail or by telephone, generally without additional verifications. Through January 2013, about 84,000 shortened applications have been mailed, and 4,463 have been returned (a response rate of 5 percent), resulting in 6,636 new enrollments through Oregon’s SNAP-ELE partnership.