6 • The Southwest Portland Post
FEATURES
February 2014
Cover Oregon fiasco may leave small businesses out in the cold
OBAMA CARE 102
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Despite the failure of the Cover
Oregon website, more than 20,000
Oregonians filled out paper applica-
tions and enrolled in private plans for
health insurance coverage under the
Affordable Care Act that began Jan. 1.
But can small businesses qualify for
the federal tax credit if the Oregon
exchange isn’t functioning?
Carriers are working diligently to
log new-enrollee information into
their computer systems so that cus-
tomers can be contacted in a timely
manner.
However, the volume of work has
been substantial. It can take about a
week between the time Cover Or-
egon delivers information on a new
enrollment to a carrier and the time
that data will show up in the carrier’s
customer-service database.
Additionally, carriers have noti-
fied Cover Oregon that they will
offer consumers extra time to make
premium payments for January cov-
erage. Because of the extension of the
enrollment date (which was January
6) and the volume of new enrollees,
premium payment deadlines will
also be extended.
One should contact their client’s
carrier to learn the new extension
date.
Lyndsey Donnerberg, a broker with
Client First Group, spoke to both the
Hillsdale and Multnomah Business
Associations last fall. See footnote.
She spelled out the process for
small businesses and individuals to
proceed with enrolling in a health
plan. “The rollout of the Cover Or-
egon [website] was definitely not as
expected,” Donnerberg said. “It was
nothing like I had described at the
business association meetings!”
There are rumors, and some news
reports, that Cover Oregon might
close down due to all its website is-
sues. It would then refer folks to the
national program: HealthCare.gov.
At press time, Cover Oregon con-
tinues to communicate with the agent
community that everything is mov-
ing right along but news reports from
the Oregonian and the Lund Report
paint a different picture.
“My understanding is that if the
portal is not up and running by April
1,” Donnerberg stated, “other options
will be explored.
“This could be the federal site or
piggybacking onto another state’s
working exchange.”
When Donnerberg was asked if
there was anything the public should
be aware of, she replied that Cover
Oregon is currently processing ap-
plications manually. “It is important
to note that there is a finite amount of
time that Oregonians have to enroll
in coverage for 2014,” Donnerberg
warned.
“Open enrollment will close on
March 31, so, if Oregonians want an
opportunity to apply for financial
assistance and/or avoid the penalty,
they should complete the Cover Ore-
gon application or apply directly with
a carrier just as soon as possible.”
Wanting more in-depth informa-
tion and curious how consumers,
Lyndsey Donnerberg, a broker with Client First Group, said that the Cover Oregon website
may never get up and running.
providers, and agents were manag-
ing, The Post contacted Donnerberg.
What follows are excerpts from that
interview.
Q: Are consumers, employers, or pro-
viders frustrated?
A: Consumers have been extremely
frustrated and I would say most of
this has been rooted in the slow pro-
cessing of applications, the long hold
times on the phone at Cover Oregon,
and the misinformation given once
they did get someone on the line.
I think that there were many people
that gave up. Those who had the time
and were persistent definitely reaped
the reward.
Q: Is there a cost?
A: While this is a no premium/
no cost program, there is very little
information available to consumers
and agents on how to access care in
this environment.
Financial assistance is real and has
helped many families with the price
tag of their health care. As an aside,
many Oregonians were expecting
a premium tax credit that allowed
them to “shop” for a plan with the
carrier and benefits that best suited
the needs of their family only to find
out that they were eligible for the
Oregon Health Plan.
Q: What about the employers?
A: There were many small em-
ployers who were disappointed that
they were not able to provide their
employees the plan/carrier choices
promised by Cover Oregon.
I don’t anticipate that this area of
the Cover Oregon portal will ever get
up and running, at least in the way
that it was meant to.
(Continued on Page 7)
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