In an effort to enroll Oregonians in Obamacare, the State of Oregon had a nifty little idea. Why not put up our own exchange so Oregonians can sign up for Oregon health care on an Oregon website? A great idea in the abstract, to be sure, but when Opening Day rolled around…the Cover Oregon website didn’t work. It never did. Despite the state’s contract with Oracle to set up a working website (the best kind, amiright??), Oregonians were reduced to…wait for it…signing up ON PAPER (Hey, the ’80s called; they want their technology- and pencils- back). Yes, $248 million later, Cover Oregon still didn’t work, and so last week the state folded their tent allowed the federal government to take over.
What’s interesting is that the State of Oregon spent a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS, got nothing for it…and the collective sound you hear from Oregonians is…crickets. Evidently, we’re too busy communing with nature or hugging trees or whatever the Hell the rest of America thinks we do here in the Beaver State (the animal, not the colloquialism for a part of the female anatomy). In most states, heads would roll. Here in Oregon, we’re all like, “Dude, it’s OK, man…better luck next time….”