Just got a COBRA letter? Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period — and because COBRA carries no employer contribution and no premium tax credit, the alternative is often much cheaper.
Not a government marketplace. Health Enrollment Center is operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC.
Oregon runs a state-based marketplace, the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace. It used the HealthCare.gov platform through 2026 and is moving to its own fully state-run system for 2027, so how you enroll may change next year. About 106,000 residents are effectuated in it, and roughly 60% get a premium tax credit.
COBRA lets you keep your former employer's exact plan — but now you pay the whole premium plus a 2% admin fee, with no employer contribution. For most households that's $650–$1,200+ a month. The letter makes it sound like your only option. It isn't.
Losing employer coverage is a qualifying life event. It opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the ACA marketplace, where your income may qualify you for a premium tax credit that COBRA can never offer. Many people who were paying $900 for COBRA move to a comparable Silver plan for $300–$450 — often keeping the same primary-care doctor in-network.
The timing move that saves people money: you have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to enroll in a marketplace plan. Unlike COBRA, marketplace coverage is not retroactive — it starts on a future date, so a gap is possible if you wait. Before you pay that first COBRA invoice, it's worth a 10-minute call to compare. If an ACA plan beats COBRA, we help you enroll; if COBRA is genuinely better for your situation, we'll tell you that too.
Oregon runs its own exchange, Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, rather than using HealthCare.gov. That matters more than it sounds: state-based exchanges set their own Open Enrollment dates, can recognize special enrollment situations the federal marketplace does not, and sometimes administer state-only programs that have no federal equivalent. Check the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace calendar rather than assuming the federal dates apply to you. Oregon runs a state-based marketplace that used the HealthCare.gov platform through 2026 and is moving to its own fully state-run platform for 2027 coverage.
One thing to check before you pay a COBRA invoice in Oregon: if losing the job dropped your household income, the marketplace subsidy you now qualify for is usually far cheaper than COBRA — and if the drop was steep, the children may qualify for CHIP, which runs year-round rather than on the 60-day clock. For most above-poverty households, though, the win is simply a subsidized marketplace plan COBRA can never match on price. Oregon expanded Medicaid (the Oregon Health Plan), so marketplace subsidies begin above the roughly 138% of poverty Medicaid floor; Oregon also runs a Bridge program for some low-income residents just above it.
The carriers writing individual business in Oregon include Moda Health, PacificSource Health Plans, Providence Health Plan, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, BridgeSpan Health and others. Networks and pricing are set county by county rather than statewide, so the same carrier can be the best value in one metro and the wrong choice an hour away. We quote Portland, Salem and Eugene — and every county in between.
Don't see yours? Call a licensed agent — most answers take under two minutes.
Yes. We help Oregon residents compare COBRA alternatives options against the alternatives so you can see the real trade-offs before you enroll.
For 2026 Oregon used the HealthCare.gov platform under its own state marketplace, and it's moving to a fully state-run system for 2027. Either way we're licensed in Oregon and enroll you directly at no extra cost, plus show you off-exchange options it doesn't list.
Through Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, the exchange Oregon runs itself — not HealthCare.gov. A licensed agent can enroll you in the same plans at the same price. Because Oregon sets its own calendar, check the Open Enrollment dates against Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace rather than assuming the federal ones apply to you.
The carriers writing individual business in Oregon include Moda Health, PacificSource Health Plans, Providence Health Plan, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, BridgeSpan Health and others. Which of them is actually competitive depends on your county rather than the state — the lineup and the networks in Portland are not the lineup in Eugene. We are independent and compare across all of them rather than steering you to one company.
Start with your ZIP. Two quick questions, then a licensed agent brings you the plans you actually qualify for — no cost, no obligation.