Officials urge six‑year extension of insurer and hospital assessments to keep Oregon reinsurance program intact

State insurance and health officials and a broad coalition of health industry groups urged the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care on Feb. 6 to extend the insurer and hospital assessments that fund Oregon's Reinsurance Program and substantial portions of the Oregon Health Plan.

Andrew Stolfi, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), told the committee the reinsurance program and the insurance premium assessment were established in 2017 (House Bill 2391) and later increased and extended in 2019. “For the 2025 plan year, for example, it will reimburse insurers for 50% of their costs over an attachment point of $103,000 and up to $1,000,000 per member,” Stolfi said, describing one of the program’s cost‑containment mechanics.

Why it matters: The assessment (set at 2% since 2019) generates state funds that, together with a federal match, finance the Oregon Reinsurance Program (ORP) and other Medicaid supports. Officials said the ORP has helped stabilize the individual market, increase…