Frequently Asked Questions.

Yes, there will be a period of transition. In 2026 the plan will be finalized, in 2027 or 2028 it will be voted on by the Oregon legislature and/or Oregon voters. If it is approved, we could see a 2030 implementation. This is a flexible timeline.

The Transition and Implementation subcommittee of the UHPGB will be forming in spring 2025, and will work from June 2025 through December 2025 to plan the implementation process. There is still an opportunity to apply to participate in this committee of the Governance Board, and plan this transition process. Email the Governance Board staff at uhpgb.info@dcbs.oregon.gov for more information about applying to this subcommittee.

The details of the plan and its implementation are still being finalized, but you can check out the Universal Health Plan Governance Board YouTube channel or the HCAO website to learn more. The UHPGB timeline that has been mentioned at several committee meetings is also helpful.

The specifics around private insurance are still being discussed but private insurance will still exist, likely as a supplementary plan. This means private insurance can offer additional services that supplement the public plan but that don’t directly compete with the public plan. 

The idea of the Universal Health Plan is to make things easier and more affordable than private insurance through a centralized agency - and more comprehensive in its coverage (vision + dental!) without the pre-authorizations that private insurance uses to deny and delay care. Opting out of the public plan is not relevant since all Oregon residents qualify automatically. 

“Opting out of the public plan” to go with private insurance is describing more of a public option model rather than the single payer model, or near single payer, that will be established by Oregon’s UHP. Under the single payer model, the “single payer” is the state government’s UHP Trust. 

Public option models tend to be weaker, because when private insurance is allowed to compete with a public plan, they often engage in practices that undermine the stability of the public plan. One example is attracting healthier people into their pool which lowers their costs, padding their profit margins while the public plan continues to cover those who are in need of services. In “multi payer” systems where private insurance is allowed to offer plans alongside the public plan, they are heavily regulated often to mimic the public plan exactly - they have to cover what the public one does, they have to reimburse at the same rates, etc. so that they can’t game the system.

At this time, in the iterative planning process, the only residents of Oregon that will not be obligated to participate in the plan are members of the 9 federal recognized tribes of Oregon. These tribal members are welcome to participate in the universal health plan.

There would be no reason to pay for and keep your current insurance plan. This is because your benefits would be provided by the Universal Health Plan. You may be able to purchase extra insurance for the rare service not covered.

The short answer is yes, HOWEVER you should save money overall! The idea is that all of your other health care costs like co-pays, deductibles, premiums, and out of pocket costs will be eliminated or lowered for an overall more affordable price. So taxes may go up, but every other cost will go down for an overall lower cost. 

The longer answer is that the plan will be paid for through a combination of different sources, including a progressive tax. This means that higher income earners will pay a higher tax than the lowest income earners. Overall though, the price of health care for families will go down.

One of the main benefits of universal health care systems is that they are ALL significantly cheaper than ours. On average, the U.S. spends twice as much per person on health care than any universal health care system. And for worse health outcomes. With those savings, we should be able to expand coverage to everyone and still offer net cost savings.

An alternative answer to “I don’t want my taxes raised” might be, “Are you happy with your current health care costs? No? If raising taxes meant your overall health care costs were lowered, would you be okay with a raised tax?”

Our current system is the most expensive one on the planet, by a huge margin.

The Plan Design and Expenditure committee, and the Operations committee is working on an answer to this question.

The goal is that the universal health system will be run by an independent office (meaning not the Oregon Health Authority since the Governor appoints the head of OHA). It needs to be protected from political changes. 

The Finance and Revenue committee is working on the answer to this question.