If you are struggling to pay your Marketplace health insurance premiums, you may be eligible for help.
The Portland nonprofit Project Access NOW is enrolling people in its Payment Support program, which pays the health insurance premiums for eligible people who earn slightly too much to qualify for Oregon Health Plan (OHP/Medicaid), but still have trouble paying their Marketplace premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs. The Payment Support program also covers some prescription drug co-pays.
You may be eligible to become a Payment Support client if you:
- live in Multnomah, Clackamas or Washington County; and
- are enrolled in a Silver-level plan through the Marketplace with Moda, Kaiser, Providence or PacificSource; and
- you receive federal tax credits to help pay your premiums; and
- you are not eligible for Medicare or Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid).
“Without the burden of high premiums or out-of-pocket costs, people are not only more likely to invest in preventative care, but also to seek care before potential problems get worse and require much more expensive treatment during emergency room visits or in-patient stays,” said Maya Chan, Project Access Now’s Insurance Enrollment & Payment Support Program manager. “That saves money for patients, health care systems and insurers. It helps everyone to invest in people’s health like this.”
Payment Support by the numbers
- Paid $556,518 in insurance premiums for 685 clients from July 2021 through June 2022
- Paid $11,079 in prescription co-pays for 357 prescriptions from Jan. 2023 through May 2023
- 60% of Payment Support clients speak a primary language other than English.
- Regional health system partners saved $3.51 million over three years (2017-2019) — a 220% return on their contributions.
To learn more or sign up for Project Access NOW’s Payment Support program, or for help signing up for a Marketplace plan and applying for tax credits, call 503-345-7031. You can also email oea@projectaccessnow.org or book an appointment online. Phone, video and in-person appointments are available in English and Spanish, and interpreters are available for other languages (including ASL).
Oregonians outside the Portland area can visit OregonHealthCare.gov or call 833-699-6850 (toll-free, all relay calls accepted) to learn about health coverage options and financial help through the Marketplace.