Cover Oregon enrolls 7,500 in private insurance

Cover Oregon officials have said previously that they’ve withheld about $20 million in payments from Oracle and hired a law firm to review the state’s contract with the technology company. The software-development contract is not for a fixed price, but rather requires the state to pay an hourly fee.

“We’re going to withhold payment,” Goldberg said. “Work will continue on the website.”

Goldberg said Cover Oregon will try to get in touch with everyone who has submitted an application to tell them its status and lay out their options if they need coverage to begin Jan. 1. People who won’t be able to get insurance through Cover Oregon can buy coverage directly from an insurance company, he said, although they won’t be eligible for tax credits.

The state has also created a temporary program for people in a high-risk pool, which includes people with diseases such as cancer who had been turned down for private insurance. The high-risk pool dissolves at the end of the year, but people in the program who haven’t bought a new commercial plan will be automatically enrolled in the temporary program through March.

There’s no estimate for when Cover Oregon website will be able to fully launch, but Goldberg has said it won’t happen before the end of January.

See also:

• Some state exchanges take hits, too
• Oregon exchange lags
• Exchange field report: Oregon, Puerto Rico, New Jersey