Beginning January 1, 2014

Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny individuals health care coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Therefore, Oregonians will have access to private market health insurance. OMIP was created to offer health insurance to Oregonians who were denied coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions. When insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, OMIP will no longer be needed to provide coverage to those individuals.

OMIP will be working with the Oregon Insurance Division (OID) and Cover Oregon to develop a transition plan for enrollee’s covered under OMIP or FMIP. All OMIP and FMIP enrollee’s will be able to enroll in coverage either through Cover Oregon, the private insurance market, or Medicaid.

Cover Oregon is a central market place where individuals and employers will be able to shop for health insurance plans and access financial assistance to help pay for coverage. Keep informed about the progress.

We will also keep you informed as we approach 2014, when these changes will take effect. If you would like more information on federal healthcare reform please visit the following links:

Oregon Reforms: The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) was created to oversee the State’s reforms and ensure they align with federal reforms.

Federal Reforms: The federal government regularly updates its key web page on reforms and even hosts weekly web chats that are open to anyone. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also hosts the website in Spanish.