Dear John,

Big news: the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Open Enrollment period has begun, and you have from now until December 15 to review your coverage or make changes! You can sign up HERE or call 1-800-318-2596 (Teletype is available at 1-855-889-4325). (And note that there are insurance agents and community partner organizations that can help with applying for financial help and choosing private plans on HealthCare.gov. You can find them here: https://healthcare.oregon.gov/Pages/find-help.aspx.)

Since the ACA went live in 2011, millions of Americans -- including hundreds of thousands of Oregonians -- have gained access to, and benefited from, quality health care. Many of those people got care for the very first time, having been previously shut out of coverage simply because they had asthma or diabetes or depression or any other pre-existing condition. 

Over these past nine years, I’ve heard countless moving stories from Oregonians across the state who received a terrifying diagnosis or experienced an unexpected medical event -- and about how the ACA made the difference between receiving life-saving care and forgoing critical treatment or taking on mountains of medical debt. While the ACA isn’t perfect -- and I’m going to keep fighting to improve it so that every Oregonian has simple, seamless access to health care -- it’s been a huge stride forward. 

Now, as we fight Oregon’s worst coronavirus infection spike yet, getting covered is more important than ever.

I know that this last year has been tough on a lot of Oregonians’ finances. Even if you are worried you may not be able to afford coverage, I encourage you to look at your options during the open enrollment period. If your income has dropped significantly during the last year, you may qualify for free coverage through the Oregon Health Plan. There is also financial assistance available for working and middle class Oregonians to put coverage within reach.

The bottom line is, health care is a human right -- meaning it should be available to everyone, no matter what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, or how healthy you are. Our communities are at their strongest when we’re all healthy and thriving, and this has never been more true than during this pandemic. The ACA is an important tool that can help us get healthy and stay healthy. So I hope you will take this opportunity to sign up and get covered before December 15, and that you’ll help me spread the word in your community about this year’s open enrollment period.

All my best,
Jeff