Oregon's second attempt at a state-run health insurance marketplace goes live Sunday, Nov. 1, replacing HealthCare.gov for roughly 118,000 residents.
The new site, Explore Health, launches as Portland-area consumers face sharply higher costs. A 40-year-old in Portland shopping for a mid-tier plan will pay between $599 and $734 a month in 2027, up from an average of $567 this year, according to state estimates cited by OPB. Statewide, individual premiums are climbing nearly 22%.
Explore Health arrives more than a decade after the state's $300 million Cover Oregon exchange collapsed in 2014. That system never worked properly, sparking a legal fight with developer Oracle and forcing Oregon onto the federal platform.
This time, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) says it is using an established system already running in nine other states rather than building from scratch. The primary contractor, Vimo Inc., signed on in August 2025. OHA projects implementation and five years of maintenance will cost just under $93 million, Willamette Week reported.
Amy Coven, communications analyst for Oregon's Explore Health program, told KLCC the agency is "moving the functionality back into Oregon so that we can have a little bit more control over the system." Oregon becomes the 22nd state to operate its own marketplace, Coven said.
The state Legislature mandated the switch in 2023. OHA says the project is on time and on budget. The site received federal approval earlier this fall, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
But the launch lands in a bruising market. After Congress let enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies expire at the end of 2025, national marketplace enrollment fell 12%, the first drop in years, according to a KFF analysis. Oregon was hit harder. Willamette Week reported that a KFF analysis found every congressional district in the state saw enrollment drop 15% or more in 2026.
More than 21,000 Oregonians left the marketplace in 2025 because of expiring tax credits and rising costs, KLCC reported.
Fewer choices compound the problem. Providence Health Plan and PacificSource Health Plans are leaving Oregon's individual market at the end of this year, cutting the number of insurers from six to four. Together they covered nearly 48,000 people as of June. Moda Health is also pulling out of parts of the state, The Oregonian reported. Regulators say close to 100,000 Oregonians will need new plans for 2027.
Rep. Rob Nosse, a Portland Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Health Care, said in a statement reported by OPB: "I'm honestly worried about what this means for Oregon and our ability to provide affordable healthcare."
Asked whether the state can offer financial relief through the new marketplace, Coven told KLCC the law allows for it but added that any programs would require legislative action. The state has no subsidy program of its own.
Enrollment on ExploreHealthOR.gov opens Sunday, Nov. 1. Oregonians must select a plan by Dec. 31 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027.
