Study: 95 percent of Oregonians now insured

It shows the number of uninsured Oregonians fell from about 550,000 in June 2013 to roughly 202,000 in June 2014, or about 5 percent of Oregon’s population of 3.9 million residents.

Most of the newly insured gained coverage through the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon’s version of Medicaid, which expanded by 360,000 people. Some previously had private insurance, but it’s likely the vast majority was uninsured.

While public insurance coverage increased in Oregon, private insurance coverage slightly decreased, by less than 1 percent. The decrease was due to a drop in the number of people covered by employer-sponsored coverage — by 47,000 individuals, or 2.5 percent.

The trend isn’t new: Employer sponsored insurance has been decreasing for more than a decade, said Peter Graven, a health economist at OHSU and the study’s author. The drop in employer-sponsored coverage was likely caused by businesses closing, new ones opening and not offering insurance, and some employers dropping coverage, he said.

The number of Oregonians buying private insurance directly from insurers also is on the decline in the state.

It dropped by about 26,000 people, or 15 percent. Some carriers have reduced direct purchase options, directing people instead to buy plans via the Cover Oregon insurance exchange.

Those declines in private insurance coverage were somewhat offset by an increase in private, non-employer coverage purchased via the exchange. Eighty percent of the plans purchased through Cover Oregon were subsidized by the federal government.

The study shows 76,000 Oregonians bought private plans via the exchange, though the most current numbers indicate more than 100,000 people gained private coverage through Cover Oregon.

The study’s author says it’s not possible to tell exactly how many of those insured via Cover Oregon were previously uninsured and how many had other types of insurance.

The study also shows the number of self-insured people increased: Under the Affordable Care Act, employers can choose to function as the insurer and bear the risk of workers’ health care costs, as an alternative to buying health coverage for their employees from insurance companies.

The increase might be due to the fact that the Affordable Care Act creates an incentive for employers to go the self-insurance route, by exempting self-insured plans from many of the health reforms.