Dive Brief:
- The state of Oregon is considering giving up on its state-run ACA exchange and using HealthCare.gov instead, USA Today reports.
- The Cover Oregon technology options workgroup is recommending using the federal exchange to enroll people in private health plans, and leveraging the current state exchange technology for Medicaid instead.
- To date the state has spent at least $134 million on its exchange site, USA Today said. Oregon spent another $7 million processing paper after the contractor that built the site, Oracle Corp., was unable to fix the state site.
Dive Insight:
Fortunately for the ACA program, most state-based health insurance exchanges have been successful, and several, including Vermont, Connecticut and the District of Columbia, exceeded 2014 enrollment goals by March 1, according to a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute. However, there have been a few states where the exchange the state built basically fell apart or had severe problems. That said, according to Becker's Hospital Review, Oregon would be the first state in the U.S. to give up on its own exchange for HealthCare.gov.