If Republicans had not been such fools by trying to hijack our nations democratic foundation, they could have sat back and taken pot shots at the Obama Administration’s failure to project just how popular ObamaCare would be at its outset and prepare the necessary infrastructure to handle the traffic. To be fair, Republicans have made it more difficult by taking every opportunity to sabotage the ACA. But one state, despite web site difficulties, because the feds have not fixed their end yet, has made the rollout a tremendous success.

Though Oregon’s health insurance exchange is not yet up and running, the number of uninsured is already dropping thanks to new fast-track enrollment for the Oregon Health Plan.

The low-income, Medicaid-funded program has already signed up 56,000 new people, cutting the state’s number of uninsured by 10 percent, according to Oregon Health Authority officials.

Though the new exchange called Cover Oregon was originally intended to be used for Oregon Health Plan enrollment, the online marketplace doesn’t work yet. Instead, new Oregon Health Plan members are being enrolled using a fast-track process that was approved by the federal government in August.

Since late September the Oregon Health Authority sent out notices to 260,000 people already enrolled in the state’s food stamps program since late October.

The notices informed them that based on their income reported to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, they are pre-qualified for the Oregon Health Plan in 2014. Most of them are newly eligible thanks to the state’s decision to expand the program’s income caps under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

To enroll, all they have to do is make a phone call or send a form consenting to be enrolled. So far, 56,000 people have done that, coming on top of more than 600,000 already enrolled.

Under the new Oregon Health Plan income eligibility rules, in 2014 individuals must earn 138 percent of the federal poverty level or less to qualify, as compared to the 100 percent cutoff this year. The new cap means monthly income of $1,322 for an individual,$1,784 for a household of two, $2,247 for a household of three, and $2,704 for a family of four… [emphasis added]