Oregon is giving 24 health insurance agents across the state $10,000 each, to help them create drop-in centers for the upcoming enrollment window.
Open enrollment starts next month and runs through the end of January. That’s when Oregonians can select their new health insurance for 2016.
Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services says having open enrollment centers will help agents provide free local assistance.
Shea Brown is an insurance broker in Philomath. She already has a storefront, so she’ll be using the $10,000 to advertise and attract uninsured people, “It makes sense to give us, as agents, that grant money to get the word out, because we know how to do it most effectively,” she said.
Brown said she'll be advertising on the side of a bus, putting up posters, extending hours and holding open enrollment events at the local library.
Oregon’s previous efforts to get people to enroll included musicians singing about ‘Cover Oregon.’ They drew both acclaim and derision.