3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016
State weighs vendors for health insurance market software
State has used
federal platform
since Cover
Oregon failed
The state and technology com-
pany Oracle, which built the
Cover Oregon system, are
still engaged in a legal battle
over who is to blame for the
problems.
By HILLARY BORRUD
Capital Bureau
Oregon insurers can con-
tinue to use the federal insur-
ance exchange free of charge
through the end of this year but
in 2017, the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services
plans to begin charging insur-
ance companies a fee of 1.5
percent of premiums in order
to use the federal platform in
Oregon. The rate could still
increase in future years to the
federal government’s origi-
nal proposal of 3 percent of
premiums, according to Lisa
Morawski, public information
and communications direc-
tor for the state Department
of Consumer and Business
Services, which handles the
state’s insurance exchange.
SALEM — Oregon is
considering proposals by
four companies to provide
a new software platform for
the state’s health insurance
marketplace.
The state uses the federal
insurance exchange, Health-
care.gov, and state of¿cials
began to explore other options
after the federal government
decided to begin charging
insurance companies a fee to
use the exchange in Oregon.
Oregon has used the fed-
eral platform since its own
insurance portal, Cover Ore-
gon, failed to launch in 2013.
Free until 2017
On Monday, however,
Morawski said the state will
not rush to decide whether
to make another attempt at
launching its own state insur-
ance exchange. “We’re going
to be on healthcare.gov for
sure for 2017,” Morawski said.
The state also charges
insurers a monthly fee of
$9.66 per insurance plan mem-
ber, although the state has pro-
posed lowering the fee to $6
next year because employees
expect higher enrollment will
continue to raise more money
than anticipated. The state uses
the money to pay for every-
thing from publicity for the
insurance exchange to technol-
ogy services and legal costs,
according to a document from
the Department of Consumer
and Business Services.
Four companies
show interest
Four technology compa-
nies submitted proposals to
provide the platform for Ore-
gon’s exchange by the dead-
line of noon Friday.
hCentive worked on insur-
ance marketplaces for Arkan-
sas, Massachusetts, Colorado,
New York and the federal
government, according to the
company’s website.
Vimo, Inc., which does busi-
ness as GetInsured, worked on
insurance exchanges in Cal-
ifornia, New Mexico, Idaho
and Mississippi, according to
the company’s website.
Softheon,
Inc.
also
worked on the Massachusetts
exchange, according to com-
pany CEO Eugene Sayan and
Michael Hendershop, the com-
pany’s business development
director for state and federal
operations.
It was not clear whether
the fourth company that
responded to the request for
proposals, New Fields Tech-
nologies, LLC, had worked
on other state health insurance
exchanges. The Department of
Consumer and Business Ser-
vices declined to release a copy
of the proposals until after the
agency issues a notice of intent
to award a contract and allows
a window of time for the com-
panies to protest the decision.
State contracting employ-
ees at the Department of
Administrative Services are
reviewing the proposals to
make sure they met the min-
imum requirements, and
the companies will present
their proposals to an evalua-
tion committee in late March
through early April, according
to a timeline from the Depart-
ment of Consumer and Busi-
ness Services.
No deadline for switch
There is no deadline for the
director of the Department of
Consumer and Business Ser-
vices to decide whether to
stick with the federal exchange
or go with one of the vendors,
Morawski said.
“If we decide to stay with
healthcare.gov, which is one
of the options that might hap-
pen, we wouldn’t have to do
anything,” Morawski said. “If
we decided to contract with a
vendor, we would need to go
through the (legislative) bud-
get approval process.”
In that case, the director of
the Department of Consumer
and Business Services could
ask lawmakers for approval in
September. The Department of
Consumer and Business Ser-
vices will consult with law-
makers and a newly formed
Health Insurance Exchange
Advisory Committee before
deciding whether to stick with
the federal exchange platform
or contract for a new state
exchange, Morawski wrote in
an email.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Warrenton City Commission Candidates ¿le for primary election
offers no comment on LNG
The Daily Astorian
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — It
was the first City Commis-
sion meeting since a pub-
lic hearings officer denied
Oregon LNG’s applica-
tions to build a liquefied
natural gas terminal on the
Skipanon Peninsula while
approving a small seg-
ment of pipeline that would
serve the terminal.
Oregon LNG has not
yet appealed the termi-
nal decision, City Attor-
ney Hal Snow said. But,
since the energy company
is expected to appeal fairly
soon and the matter would
come before the commis-
sion, Mayor Mark Kujala
made it clear Tuesday night
that commissioners would
not comment on the matter.
“The commission is
remaining objective and
unbiased so that we can
hear that appeal, as we can
anticipate that one might
come,” Kujala said. “We
want to make sure that all
of us are able to listen to it
fairly, so we won’t be mak-
ing any comments.”
One person who did
comment, however, was
David Zunkel, a Warren-
ton resident who wanted to
get his views on the record
before he left on a trip to
Europe.
“I am one of many War-
renton residents, as well
as people in the state and
region, who are heart-
ened by the decision of the
city-appointed
hearings
officer, (Daniel) Kearns,
to deny the land use appli-
cation by Oregon LNG
for the LNG terminal on
the banks of the Columbia
River, our priceless scenic
and natural resource,” Zun-
kel said.
Voters will decide on two
seats on the Clatsop County
Board of Commissioners and
an open judgeship in the Cir-
cuit Court during the May 17
primary.
Clatsop County Sheriff Tom
Bergin ¿led and is running
unopposed. One county mea-
sure is on the ballot this year for
a ¿ve-year local tax renewal for
fairgrounds operation.
In addition to county races,
the primary election features
contests for president, con-
gressional and state legislative
seats, governor and other state-
wide seats and judge positions.
The ¿ling deadline was
Tuesday.
Thursday is the deadline for
candidates to ¿le statements
for the voter’s pamphlet. The
county voter’s pamphlet will
be inserted in the state voter’s
pamphlet for the May election.
Candidates for county
of¿ces who have ¿led
Circuit Court Judge, Posi-
tion 2:
David Goldthorpe, of War-
renton, is a senior deputy dis-
trict attorney;
Dawn McIntosh, of Gear-
hart, is a lawyer who works for
McIntosh & Long in Gearhart;
Ronald Woltjer, of Astoria,
is a municipal court judge for
Warrenton, Seaside and Can-
non Beach.
Sheriff:
Tom Bergin, of Gearhart,
has served as sheriff since Jan-
uary 2005.
Board of Commissioners,
District 2:
John Dunzer, of Seaside,
has run unsuccessfully for the
Port of Astoria, the Seaside
City Council and the County
Commission. He has experi-
ence in engineering, business
and teaching.
Sarah Nebeker, of Gear-
hart, has served as county com-
missioner since May 2012.
Board of Commissioners,
District 4:
Kathleen Sullivan, of
Astoria, works the front desk
of the Cannery Pier Hotel. She
has served on the Astoria Bud-
get Committee and on the Asto-
ria Visual Arts Board.
Warrenton turns to public for ideas, feedback on goal setting
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — The
City Commission is inviting
the public to weigh in on a
tentative list of 2016 goals,
all of which carried over
from last year.
At a work session Tues-
day, commissioners said
they will continue to focus
on improving and certifying
the city’s levees, in part to
lower flood insurance rates;
pursuing downtown Urban
Renewal Agency projects
and marina improvements;
maximizing business and
industrial development; and
remedying
development
restraints in Hammond.
Soon, the city will post
these priorities on Warren-
ton’s homepage and let com-
munity members comment
on them. The commission-
ers hope the feedback will
help them refine their goals,
expand on them and perhaps
add new ones.
“They may have some-
thing we haven’t thought
of,” Commissioner Tom
Dyer said. “It would be nice
to have input.”
Commissioners
Henry
Balensifer and Rick Newton
agreed that some of the city’s
goals — maximizing devel-
opment, for instance — are
better thought of as guide-
lines for the city’s long-
term vision. Public input
could help the commission-
ers plant specific goalposts
to measure their progress.
“We’re going to ask them
for suggestions so we can
distill them and come out
with actual finite goals that
we can reach out and touch,”
Newton said.
Kujala, however, said that
keeping city goals somewhat
broad allows for flexibility
as the commission moves
through the year.
Later on, the city will
revisit the goals with the
community’s ideas in mind.
“If we’re really off the
mark here, I’d like to hear
it,” Kujala said.
In other business Tues-
day, the City Commission,
during a regular meeting,
adopted an ordinance that
prohibits attracting and feed-
ing animals not normally
domesticated.
These animals include
elk, deer, bears, wolves,
foxes, cougars, coyotes,
feral cats, groundhogs, opos-
sums, raccoons, skunks and
turkeys.
A violation will result in
a minimum fine of $50 and
a maximum fine of $250 for
each offense.
TO ATTE N D :
Recent shrinking of
Washington park
glaceiers: What
does it mean?
Jon Riedel
Fo r M em bers:
D in n er & L ecture:$25 ea .
L ecture on ly: n o ch a rge
Fo r No n -M em bers:
D in n er & L ecture: $35 ea .
L ecture on ly: $15 ea .
Appetizers w ill be
a va ila ble a t 6 p.m .
D in n er w ill be served a t
6:30 p.m .
T h e spea ker w ill begin
a fter th e din n er service
is com plete a n d n on -
din n er m em bers a n d
guests of th e a udien ce
ta ke th eir sea ts.
F orum to be h eld a t th e
CM H Com m un ity Cen ter
a t 2021 E xch a n ge St.,
Astoria .
LIM ITE
S EATIN D
G
RESER
VE
SPACE TO Y D O U R
AY !
March 15
Columbia Fo r um
FOR RESERVATION OR TO JOIN COLUMBIA FORUM CONTACT:
Ho lly La rkin s a t 503.325.3211 ext. 227 o r fo ru m @ d a ilya sto ria n .co m by M a rch 11, 2016
Columbia Forum is sponsored by:
The D a ily Asto ria n • Cra ft3 • O SU Sea fo o d L a b o ra to ry • K M U N -F M
Ca n n ery Pier H o tel & Sp a
Working for a strong
Community
We make a difference together
Each year, CMH caregivers give more than 10,000 volunteer
hours and thousands of dollars in donations to our commu-
nity. CMH raises money each year for worthy community
organizations, including United Way, American Cancer So-
ciety and March of Dimes. Our caregivers are little league
coaches, volunteer ireighters, board members and more.
At home and at work, our caregivers are dedicated to serving
our neighbors. hat is why CMH ofers many programs
designed to help those who are uninsured or under-insured.
We provide the healthcare you need, when you need it.
People Centered, Quality Driven
& Service Focused.
&YDIBOHF4USFFU"TUPSJB0SFHPOt
www.columbiamemorial.org