News Release
January 9, 2007
Contact: Jo Kilgore, Public Information Officer, (405) 522-7474
Premium Assistance Program Opens Door to Individuals
OKLAHOMA CITY – Applications are now being accepted for the second phase of a plan to provide health insurance to more Oklahoma citizens that qualify. The O-EPIC Premium Assistance Individual Plan (IP) enrollment officially kicked off Tuesday, January 9.
The O-EPIC IP is available to Oklahomans who fall into one of three groups: working adults who are not eligible for an O-EPIC employer-sponsored qualified health plan and work for an Oklahoma small business with 50 or fewer employees; temporarily unemployed adults who are eligible to receive unemployment benefits through the Oklahoman Employment Security Commission; or working adults with a disability who work for any size employer and have a “ticket to work.
Additional qualifications include being an Oklahoma resident, between the ages of 19 and 64, not currently enrolled in or have an open application for Medicaid or Medicare, provide proof of U.S. citizenship (or qualified alien), provide Social Security numbers for all household members, and have an annual gross household income within the qualifying guidelines.
“This new program has the potential to reach a whole new segment of Oklahoma’s uninsured population. We’re reaching out to those people who quite possibly may never have had the opportunity to purchase health insurance coverage,” said Mike Fogarty, chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.
O-EPIC IP is designed to provide Oklahoma individuals with health insurance for themselves and their spouse if needed. The employee’s household must be at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level to participate in the program.
“We don’t want people to look at the income levels and immediately assume that they make too much money to qualify. There are additional factors at play such as household size as well as some income disallowances that can work in their favor. My best advice would be to just go ahead and fill out an application,” said Matt Lucas, program manager for the O-EPIC program.
Premiums for the O-EPIC IP plan are based on income with premiums for an individual ranging from $0 to $49.33 per month and for a couple, $0 to $66.44. Participants are also required to make co-payments for services, such as $10 per office visit and $10 for a brand prescription.
Recent government figures put the percentage of uninsured workers in Oklahoma at 20.6 percent, 5th highest in the United States. The O-EPIC program was established to help make health insurance affordable and reduce the number of Oklahomans without coverage.
For more information about the O-EPIC program or an application, call 1-888-365-3742, or visit the web site at http://www.insureoklahoma.org.
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