It’s been three months since Cover Oregon‘s website launched on Oct. 1 to allow Oregonians to enroll for health insurance, but due to problems with the site, many University of Oregon students have had troubles signing up for coverage.
UO Health Insurance Coordinator Kellie Shelton has spoken with students who encounter problems with Cover Oregon and signing up for health care through the state.
“I’ve had a couple students who came in and were going to enroll in Cover Oregon but had issues with it and now are enrolling in our UO insurance,” Shelton said. “The only way I can see students benefiting from Cover Oregon is if they qualify for low income and aren’t claimed on their parents’ taxes.”
Students under the age of 26 are lawfully permitted to remain on their parents’ insurance plans, but anyone over 18 and not currently covered is required to insure themselves and eligible for Cover Oregon — regardless of whether they are from Oregon or another state. Due to website problems, many are enrolling through the paper application, but with paper applications arise numerous issues that employees of Cover Oregon face. From applications sent to the wrong address to handwriting errors paper applications seem to delay the process of enrollment even further.
The federal deadline for Oregonians to sign up for Cover Oregon is March 31, but with the insurance exchage site’s shortcomings, there’s fear that not all Oregonians will be able to enroll before that date. According to the Portland-area CBS affiliate KOIN, around 170,000 Oregonians have enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan thus far, but half a million Oregonians remain uninsured.
“Of our nearly 4,000 graduate students, about 30 percent are Oregon residents and, therefore, are potentially eligible for insurance through the Cover Oregon program,” Kimberly Espy, dean of the Graduate School and vice president for Research and Innovation, said. According to Espy, questions about Cover Oregon in recent weeks have spawned information sessions specifically about the program on campus for students who are confused by the new system.
There are concerns to whether the website will be fixed, but the main concern is why this problem wasn’t fixed earlier and why is it still an issue after three months.
According to Portland ABC affiliate KATU, Representative Patrick Sheehan emailed Gov. John Kitzhaber warning him about the problems that Cover Oregon’s site was facing and his concern with Chief Information Officer Carolyn Lawson, who was responsible for the site’s development. Kitzhaber explained the email came to his office but he didn’t see it, KATU reported. November of last year Lawson resigned for personal reasons.
When the site will work efficiently is still a mystery to Oregonians. Students and citizens are encouraged to call Cover Oregon’s main hotline with any questions or concerns at 1-855-268-3767.