Oregon had an uninsured population of about 293,500 people as of 2019, per data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). That represents slightly over 7% of the state’s population. When the nonprofit looked at the uninsured rate again in 2021, they found that of the people without health insurance, about 163,600 of them would qualify for marketplace coverage.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), marketplace coverage must cover pre-existing conditions and a set of 10 essential health benefits. Those include things like prescription drugs, rehabilitative care, hospitalization and preventive services, among other benefits.
The ACA also established advance premium tax credits, aka subsidies, for people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Most people qualify for some level of financial help.
In fact, when Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed the number of people without health insurance in Oregon in 2021, they estimated that of the people who qualify for marketplace coverage, about a fifth of them (20%) could get a bronze plan for free thanks to subsidies.
KFF also looked at premium data for Oregon in 2021 and found that the lowest cost for a bronze plan averaged out to about $318 a month. Silver plans had an average lowest cost of $426 a month while lowest cost gold plans averaged $458 a month.
These averages don’t include tax credits that might make these plans more affordable.
On our own marketplace, we found that a 40-year-old living in Eugene, OR, with an income of $37,000 a year could find a bronze plan for $162 a month. That estimate does include a subsidy to lower the cost.
Of course, what you pay for coverage as well as the plan options available to you will depend on where you live in the state. There are at least 5 insurers offering marketplace health plans in Oregon in 2021, including Kaiser Permanente (not affiliated with the nonprofit referenced above), Moda, and PacificSource.
Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Marketplace Eligibility Among the Uninsured: Implications for a Broadened Enrollment Period and ACA Outreach” (January 27, 2021)
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Average Marketplace Premiums by Metal Tier, 2018-2021”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021” (November 23, 2020)