Oregon health insurance exchange becoming a favorite for the federal government
Oregon may be home to one of the country’s most favorable health insurance exchanges, from a federal perspective. The state is one among several others that has chosen to build and operate its own health insurance exchange system, called Cover Oregon. Initially, this exchange received conditional approval from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. Cover Oregon has since become one of the most favored health insurance exchange systems of the federal government.
Cover Oregon being built to favor low-cost policies
Oregon lawmakers have labored to build the Cover Oregon system in such a way that it will drive down health insurance costs throughout the state, even for those not receiving coverage through the program. The exchange will operate as a virtual marketplace for insurance policies where consumers can find the coverage they need at an affordable price. Over the past few months, Cover Oregon has been accepting policy applications from the private health insurance companies that operate in the state. State officials had initially expected that these policies would be somewhat expensive due to the warnings coming from insurance companies.
Price disparity being addressed by state officials
Cover Oregon recently released data concerning the policies it would be hosting, showing that there is some price disparity in the policies being offered by different companies. For instance, one health insurance company intends to charge $169 in monthly premiums for coverage for a 40-year-old individual of average risk, whereas another company aims to charge $422 a month for the same coverage. Both policies were considered inadequate on terms of pricing and their representative insurers were told to re-apply to the exchange.
Regulators work to promote affordable health insurance
The federal government has begun using Cover Oregon as an example of how the Affordable Care Act will reduce health insurance costs through the use of exchange programs. Oregon regulators have been quick to stamp out what they considered to be over-pricing on policies that would be included in the exchange program, hoping to pave the way for inexpensive, yet comprehensive health insurance policies that will populate the exchange.