Oregon's online health insurance exchange, Cover Oregon, will still launch on Oct. 1 but will not be fully accessible until mid-October or later, according to a report from The Oregonian.
Consumers will initially only have the ability to buy coverage through the exchange with the aid of certified insurance agents and "community partners," rather than purchasing health plans directly, according to the report. Cover Oregon will list agents and community partners on Oct. 1 who can assist with enrollment. The state has trained 1,000 agents and 800 community partners so far, according to the report.
Cover Oregon decided to go with the limited launch to prevent overloading the system and to allow time for identifying and resolving bugs, state officials said, according to the report.
Additionally, the state exchange must deal with a $16 million funding shortfall, after a $59 million grant for computer programming from Cover Oregon's sister agency, The Oregon Health Authority, ran out two months earlier than expected in April, according to the report.
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