Oregon is one step closer to a flexible, consumer-friendly health insurance enrollment platform.

Currently, Oregon uses healthcare.gov for health insurance enrollment. The website is operated by the federal government and open to any state to utilize. Unfortunately, it is governed by strict rules and regulations that make it difficult for state agencies, health plans, and agents to facilitate a consumer-friendly process for enrollment. It also makes the state reliant on federal agencies to access data that would make it easier for Oregonians to enroll in better plans. Moreover, healthcare.gov can be a challenging website to navigate, increasing the need for call centers and enrollment assistance.

Oregon is one of only three states that runs all the functions of the marketplace except the website itself. Another, Virginia, is planning to transition to a fully state-based marketplace by the end of the year. State-based marketplaces give health officials and states more flexibility to respond to and tailor health plans to consumers’ needs. They also provide more opportunities to contain costs with strategies that aren’t possible under a one-size-fits-all marketplace like healthcare.gov.

In 2019, the committee that advises Oregon’s marketplace unanimously recommended our transition to a fully state-based marketplace. This year we have a chance to begin the process with SB 972. The bill directs the Oregon Health Authority to create the transition plan, and has already passed the Senate and is scheduled for a House vote tomorrow. Call your representatives and tell them to vote YES on SB 972, making it easier to enroll in health plans and allowing Oregon to use every tool available to lower health care costs.