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Oregonians will have fewer options for health insurance plans in 2027, and the plans that remain are seeking to raise prices at a rate with no recent precedent.
That’s according to data released Monday by Oregon regulators, showing that insurers of individual and small group health plans are seeking to raise premiums in the state by a whopping 17% average in 2027.
The requests, which make rate increases of 6% to 10% in recent years pale in comparison, are subject to public input and are not yet finalized. But in recent years, the state has generally ended up letting health insurers raise rates to something close to the increases they sought.
If history repeats, it would mean Oregon households and small businesses that get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace would be on the hook to pay several hundred dollars per year more per person on health insurance, which is already for many a crushing expense.
This is not just an Oregon phenomenon. Health care costs, already a huge chunk of national spending, have been increasing far faster than inflation in recent years, drawing further from the coffers of governments, businesses, and households alike. Experts debate the causes, but generally cite an aging population and rising drug, labor and equipment costs.
Another factor in rising insurance prices may be that some people are not getting plans at all. Oregon regulators say that Congress’s decision to eliminate enhanced subsidies on Affordable Care Act-regulated plans has contributed to an exodus from that market. In Oregon from 2025 to 2026, the number of enrollees in ACA-regulated plans shrunk from 303,000 to 274,000. This in turn, means a worse risk pool for insurers, causing them to raise prices even more for those who remain.
Whatever the cause, a WW review of recent rate hikes shows that Oregon prices industrywide have risen in recent years at an astounding clip. Between 2021 and 2026, the cheapest individual Silver plan in the Portland area jumped from $425 to $518 per month.
If the requested rates are approved, the cheapest such plan, from Kaiser, would in 2027 cost $581 monthly.
The same goes for small group plans. In 2021, the cheapest such Silver-rated plan in the Portland area jumped from $321 to $450 per month.
In 2027, that cheapest such plan could cost $509.
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, which announced the rate increase, described an array of justifications it heard from insurance companies for raising prices. These ranged from “generalized federal policy uncertainties” to tariffs, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, as well as general inflation.
At the same time, the DFR is touting the Oregon Reinsurance Program as a force of market stabilization. Under the program, the state is among those that operate as “essentially insurance for insurance companies,”according to Healthinsurance.org, helping insurers to pay high cost claims. Oregon regulators say rates are 10% lower than they would be if not for the program.
Still, as hospitals and other providers demand more, the health insurance market is evidently getting tougher, and for some companies, the state support and prior rate increases have not been enough. Providence Health Plan, once a stalwart of the Oregon health insurance market, is shutting down nearly entirely at the end of the year. And another local insurer, PacificSource, will stop offering health plans on the individual health insurance market.
“Oregon consumers are facing challenging times with expiring premium tax credits, rising health insurance rates across the country, and two carriers leaving the Oregon market,” said TK Keen, Oregon’s insurance commissioner. “With the losses of Providence and PacificSource in the individual market, there are fewer options, but there are still three options in every Oregon county to choose from.”
Residents of Multnomah County, for their part, will have access to four individual ACA plans in 2027: offered by BridgeSpan, Kaiser, Moda and Regence. Of these, Moda is seeking the largest rate increase—25%.
Meanwhile in the ACA small group market, the company seeking the largest rate increase—28%—is the behemoth UnitedHealthcare. Last year, that company reported a profit of $12.2 billion.
