Dear John,

This pandemic has made it even clearer that every American -- regardless of the color of their skin, their zip code, or their income -- needs and deserves quality, affordable health care. That’s why I’m pleased that President Biden took swift action to open a special enrollment period for Americans to sign up for health care coverage through HealthCare.gov.

That means you have from now until May 15, 2021 to sign up and get covered. To get started, you can visit HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov to view 2021 plans and prices and enroll in the best one for you. You can also call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596, which provides assistance in over 150 languages. TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325. And don’t forget that you can get help with any step of the process here: https://localhelp.healthcare.gov.

The past 12 months have been especially difficult on a lot of Oregonians’ finances, so even if you think you may not be able to afford coverage right now, I encourage you to take a look at the options available through the exchange during this special open enrollment period. You may even quality for free coverage through the Oregon Health Plan if your income has dropped significantly this past year, and there are also other forms of financial assistance that could help you access coverage.

Health care is a basic human right, and it shouldn’t be reserved just for the powerful and privileged. I hope you’ll join me in spreading the word so we can get all of our communities signed up for care during this difficult time.

All my best,
Jeff