.svg){kind=logo}
What You Need to Know
Open enrollment for 2022 coverage in Oregon begins November 1, 2021 and ends on January 15, 2022.
Oregon was one of the first states to expand Medicaid eligibility for its residents.
The Beaver States offers children healthcare coverage, regardless of immigration status, to low- to moderate-income households.
Oregon’s 4.1 million residents get their health insurance through their employer, the private individual market, Affordable Care Act (ACA; also known as Obamacare) plans, Medicare and the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), which combines Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).1
Almost half of residents get coverage at their job, while nearly two out of five receive it through Medicare or Medicaid. Before the ACA was rolled out in 2013, 15% of Oregonians were uninsured; by 2019, that had dropped to just 7%.2
Since its implementation, the ACA covered between 6% and 8% of Oregon residents, but enrollment dropped in 2021 to 3.4%.3 All ACA plans include 10 “essential health benefits,” such as preventive care, hospital care and prescription drug coverage.
The Beaver State was one of the first to expand Medicaid, as allowed under the ACA. By including adults earning less than 138% of the federal poverty level, in 2019 nearly 500,000 adults in Oregon were enrolled in the Medicaid expansion.4
Read on to learn more about your options for health insurance as a resident of Oregon.
How Do I Enroll in Oregon’s Health Insurance Marketplace?
Every year, open enrollment lasts from November 1 to January 15. If you buy a plan during this time, your coverage will start the following January 1. (To avoid a break in coverage, you’ll need to re-enroll each year.) More than 141,000 Oregonians enrolled in health insurance during the 2021 Open Enrollment Period (OEP).5
Under Obamacare, Oregonians can buy nongroup (individual) coverage and possibly qualify for subsidies (which will help you pay for your insurance) through its state-based Health Insurance Marketplace. Oregon relies on the federal government to handle signups for insurance through healthcare.gov; the state ensures that any plans sold on the Marketplace meet ACA guidelines.
Policies can also be purchased directly from an insurance company or broker, too, but keep in mind that these plans won’t qualify for subsidies.
If you miss the OEP, you’ll have to wait until next year’s enrollment period unless something happens to leave you uninsured or changes the size of your family. This triggers what’s called a Special Enrollment Period, which opens a short window for you to get insurance.6
Which Companies Offer Individual Health Insurance in Oregon?
For 2022, six health insurance companies offer individual policies on the state Marketplace, down from 11 in 2014.7 They are :
At least seven health insurance plans are available in every Oregon county, with as many as 43 plans in some areas, through these insurers.8
How Much Does Marketplace Health Insurance Cost in Oregon?
Whether you choose a plan within or outside the Marketplace, all are organized by levels of cost-sharing, also known as “metal” tiers of gold, silver and bronze.
Premiums for these plans in Oregon have decreased since 2019. Here are the average monthly costs a 40-year-old resident would pay for bronze, silver and gold plans sold through the Oregon Marketplace for the last three years:9
| Average Premiums for Oregon Marketplace Plans (for a 40-year-old person) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Lowest-Cost Bronze Plan | $323 | $314 | $318 |
| Lowest-Cost Silver Plan | $434 | $428 | $426 |
| Lowest-Cost Gold Plan | $471 | $468 | $458 |
For 2022, the state-approved increases of 1.5% for the average subsidized premium.9
(The government uses the second-lowest-cost silver premium for a 40-year-old person as a “benchmark” for calculating subsidies.)10
Snippet Render Is Present – D3 cannot be loaded in editor mode. Go to preview or publish mode.
Average Rate Changes
What Are My Coverage Options in Oregon If I’m Low-Income?
ACA Marketplace Plans (Obamacare)
If you earn between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL), you qualify for help paying your monthly premiums. A family of three, for example, that earns between $21,960 and $87,840 a year would qualify in 2021. As mentioned above, to receive subsidies, you must purchase plans through the Marketplace.11
In 2020, nearly three-quarters of ACA enrollees in Oregon received help paying for monthly premiums via subsidies, also called advanced premium tax credits.12 The monthly subsidies averaged $453 in 2020.13
Here are some examples of how much you might save with the help of these tax credits:
- A 28-year-old in Salem who earns $24,000 a year could get a silver plan for $29 per month after subsidies.14 The same policy would cost $339 per month without the premium tax credits that cover more than 98% of the cost.
- A family of three in Portland with an income of $50,000 a year could pay $130 a month after subsidies for a silver plan.15 This policy would cost $1,050 per month without the premium tax credits that cover 97% of the cost.
If you earn between 100% and 250% of the FPL, purchase a silver plan on the Marketplace, and receive premium tax credits, you may qualify for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) to lower your out-of-pocket costs even more. In 2021, 30% of enrollees in Oregon Marketplace plans received CSRs.16
Medicaid
Oregon’s Medicaid program is known as Oregon Health Plan, or OHP. It has three parts:
- OHP Plus covers children from birth to 18 and adults ages 19 to 64.
- OHP with Limited Drug covers adults who qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage).17
- OHP Plus Supplemental covers pregnant adults aged 21 or older and includes prenatal, postpartum and newborn care. In 2018, the program financed half the births in Oregon. If you’re a new parent and you want to maintain Medicaid eligibility after your pregnancy coverage ends, your income must be below 138% of the FPL.18
Oregon elected to expand Medicaid under the ACA to cover almost all nonelderly adults under 138% of the FPL. As of April 2021, about 1,038,709 people in the state had enrolled in Medicaid and 141,000 had joined in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).19 Together, they represent nearly one-quarter of residents, a more than 90% increase in enrollment since 2013.20
To qualify for Medicaid, recipients must earn a percentage of the FPL. Those percentages vary for different groups:21
- Parents: 138%
- Childless adults: 138%
- Pregnant women: 190%
- Children: 305%
- Seniors: 74%
- People with a disability: 74%
You can check your eligibility through OHP Customer Service or call (800) 699-9075.
OHP also offers emergency medical services through Citizen-Alien Waived Emergent Medical to anyone who is blocked from receiving Medicaid due to their immigration status.22
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Low-income children who are under 19 and part of a family earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level have access to health insurance through CHIP, which in Oregon falls under the OHP Plus program mentioned above.
In 2017, Oregon passed the Cover All Kids law, which ensures the right to healthcare coverage regardless of a child’s immigration status. These children can access the full range of health services, from primary and preventive care to specialty and inpatient hospital care.23
What Are Oregon’s Medicare Plans for Seniors and People with Disabilities?
Medicare is a federal program that helps cover healthcare costs for Americans who are 65 and over; younger and living with a disability; or who have ALS or end-stage renal disease. One in five Oregon residents receives Medicare benefits. Each year, the Open Enrollment Period to sign up for Medicare runs from October 15 through December 7.
In 2018, almost 19% of Medicare beneficiaries in Oregon also signed up for the state’s Medicaid program.24 Enrollment could be through a Medicare Savings Program that helps cover your premiums, deductibles, coinsurance and copays.25
Of Oregon’s roughly 880,000 Medicare members, over 50% enrolled in private Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans as opposed to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).26 Both plans provide enrollees with Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance).
Medicare Advantage offers extra benefits; it could include Part D prescription drug coverage which, under Original Medicare, you would have to purchase separately as a standalone plan. In 2021, 9 companies in Oregon offer Medicare Advantage plans.27
Over 650,000 Oregonians purchased a separate Medicare Part D drug plan.28 Monthly plan premiums in the state range from $7.70 to $114.50 in 2020; the average premium is $48.17.29 In 2017, over one-quarter of people with Medicare with Part D coverage in Oregon received both low-income premium and cost-sharing subsidies.30
If you have Original Medicare, you can choose from 30 insurers to add private Medicare Supplement Insurance (what’s called a Medigap policy) to your benefits. Medigap policies pay the portion Medicare doesn’t pay. Oregon allows beneficiaries to change Medigap plans annually.
The 10 available Medicare Supplement Insurance plans are standardized, which means that the benefits remain the same for all plans, though monthly premiums vary by company. For example, in 2022, a Plan G policy at age 65 runs from $75 to $238 monthly, depending on the company and plan type you choose.31
If you need help, the Oregon Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) program can tell you more about your Medicare options; visit the SHIBA site or call (800) 722-4134.
What Are My Options for Buying Short-Term Health Insurance in Oregon?
Short-term health insurance can help fill temporary insurance gaps, such as being between jobs or missing the Obamacare enrollment window.
Oregon limits temporary plans to three months, including renewals. (If you buy another short-term plan from the same insurer within 60 days of the expiration of a previous plan, that’s considered a renewal.)32
It’s important to know, though, that these plans, available from seven insurers in the state, don’t include the “minimum essential coverage” required by the Affordable Care Act.33 Check disclosures carefully to see what coverage is guaranteed by any policy you consider.
