Health insurance brokers in Oregon

• 118,372Oregonians signed up for a marketplace plan for 2026, down more than 15 percent
• 21.6percent average increase approved for 2027 individual plans, before any financial help
• $0what it costs you to have a broker sort out your Oregon options

Oregon has a new front door

Under a 2023 state law, Senate Bill 972, Oregon moved its marketplace off the federal HealthCare.gov system and onto its own platform for plan year 2027. Explore Health opened November 1, 2026 with conditional approval from CMS. Financial help, plan shopping and enrollment for 2027 all run through it now, at ExploreHealthOR.gov.

The practical risk is simple. Anyone who goes back to HealthCare.gov out of habit is at the wrong website, and new systems tend to have rough edges in their first season. Give yourself time rather than leaving it to the last week.

Two carriers are gone for 2027

Providence and PacificSource will no longer offer individual health plans in Oregon. They did not file 2027 individual rates, and their members have to choose new coverage during this open enrollment. Four carriers remain, and the state's insurance regulator says every Oregon county still has at least three choices. If you were with either departing carrier, the question to ask is not just what a new plan costs but whether your doctors and your hospital are in its network.

Prices are rising as well. Oregon's regulator approved a weighted average increase of about 21.6 percent for 2027 individual plans, before any financial help. That would be higher without the Oregon Reinsurance Program, which has run since 2018 under a federal waiver and which the state credits with lowering rates by an average of 9.7 percent.

Before you buy, check OHP Bridge

Oregon is one of the few states with a Basic Health Program. OHP Bridge covers adults 19 to 64 with incomes between 138 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level who do not have other affordable coverage, and it has no premiums, copays, coinsurance or deductibles. It opened in July 2024 and you can apply any time of year. If your income lands in that range, a marketplace plan is probably not your best answer, and I will tell you that even though it means I sell you nothing.

When buying outside Explore Health makes sense

Coverage sold outside the exchange covers the same essential benefits. It is worth comparing mainly if you will not receive any financial help, because your income is too high or you have an affordable job based plan available. If you qualify for help, it is only paid on plans bought through Explore Health.

Open enrollment dates for 2027 coverage in Oregon

Oregon now runs its own exchange, so Explore Health sets the calendar, and Oregon's January 1 deadline is later than the federal one.

• November 1, 2026Open enrollment begins for 2027 coverage on Explore Health
• December 31, 2026Enroll by this date for coverage that starts January 1, 2027
• January 15, 2027Open enrollment closes. January enrollments start February 1

Outside that window you need a major life change, such as losing other coverage, a move, marriage, or a new baby. For most special enrollments under Explore Health, coverage starts on the first day of the month after you choose a plan, and a birth or adoption can be covered from that day. One transition detail worth knowing: if you need a plan that starts in 2026, that special enrollment still goes through HealthCare.gov. Anything starting in 2027 goes through Explore Health. Members of federally recognized tribes may be able to enroll or change plans at any time of year.

Every 2027 change in Oregon, carrier by carrier →

How to choose a health insurance broker in Oregon

Anyone can put "broker" on a website. These are the questions that separate the real ones, and you can ask every one of them in a five minute phone call.

1. Verify the license before anything else

   Ask for the license number and the NPN, then look them up yourself. Oregon agents can be checked through the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation license check, and every agent in the country is searchable through the NAIC lookup. An agent who hesitates to give you those numbers has told you everything you need to know. Mine are on this page and on my license page.

2. Ask whether they are independent or captive

   A captive agent works for one insurance company and can only sell you that company's plans. An independent broker is appointed with many carriers and compares across them. Neither is dishonest, but only one of them can tell you when a competitor has the better plan for you.

3. Ask what it costs, and be suspicious of any answer other than nothing

   Brokers are paid by the insurance carriers. The premium is identical whether you enroll through a broker, on your own, or directly with the carrier. Nobody should charge you a fee to enroll you in an individual marketplace plan.

4. Ask how many carriers they can actually quote

   "We shop the whole market" is a slogan until someone puts a number on it. Ask which carriers they are appointed with in Oregon, and ask them to show you the comparison rather than describe it.

5. Ask whether they will still be there in March

   Plenty of agents are enthusiastic in December and unreachable in the spring, which is exactly when a claim gets denied or a doctor turns out to be out of network. Ask who you call when something goes wrong. The answer should be a person, not a call center.

6. Read the reviews, and look at the dates

   A handful of genuine reviews spread over time tells you more than a wall of them that all landed in the same week. Mine are on my Google profile and they arrived one at a time, from clients who agreed to write one.

What working with me looks like

You tell me your ZIP code, who needs coverage, and roughly what you expect to earn this year. I check whether you are likely to qualify for financial help, then walk you through the options that fit, including coverage sold outside the state exchange. If a plan through the state exchange is the right answer for you, I will say so plainly and point you to a certified helper there, since that is the door to any subsidy. For coverage I can place directly, I handle the enrollment paperwork and stay your point of contact afterward.

Most first conversations take about ten minutes. There is no cost and no obligation, and I am not going to pressure you into a plan, because a client who was pushed into the wrong coverage is a client who leaves.

Where I work in Oregon

Statewide. Most of my work happens over the phone or a video call, so where you are in Oregon changes nothing about the process.

• Portland
• Salem
• Eugene
• Gresham
• Hillsboro
• Bend
• Beaverton
• Medford
• Springfield
• Corvallis
• Albany
• Tigard
• Lake Oswego
• Grants Pass
• Klamath Falls
• Roseburg
• Coos Bay
• Pendleton
• Hood River
• Astoria

I am also licensed in every other state, so if you are moving or splitting time between two states, that usually is not a problem either.

Who I help most in Oregon

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.2 percent of people in Oregon had no health insurance in 2024, below the national rate of 8.2 percent.

Individuals and families buying their own coverage, self employed people and 1099 contractors, small business owners, people who just lost employer coverage, and early retirees bridging the gap to Medicare. This year in Oregon that also means former Providence and PacificSource members who need to find a new home for their coverage.