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> September 14. 2014 12:01AM Cover Oregon won't be mourned by many Nearly everyone seems to agree at this point that Cover Oregon, the problem-plagued entity that couldn't produce a functioning website to enroll people under the Affordable Care Act, needs to go. Everyone, that is, except some of Cover Oregon's own board members. But in the end, the Legislature has the final say. The only question seems to be when to pull the plug. The Legislature created Cover Oregon in 2011 as a public corporation, meaning it functions more like a business than like a state agency, and does not answer directly to the governor. It was supposed to develop a website that Oregonians could use to sign up for health coverage under the federal health care reform law. That effort was a dismal failure. The website never worked properly despite millions of dollars paid to the contractor, Oracle, and state officials had to fall back on a cumbersome paper application process. Still, thousands of Oregonians did sign up for coverage. The state and Oracle have pointed fingers at each other. Oracle sued the state for $23 million, and the state in turn is suing Oracle. The courts will sort that out. Meanwhile, lawmakers must decide what to do about Cover Oregon the public corporation. The Cover Oregon board has not yet made a recommendation, as Gov. John Kitzhaber asked it to do, but in a recent meeting several members indicated they are leaning toward keeping the organization intact, at least for a while, unless it fails to meet as yet unspecified performance benchmarks. Senate President Peter Courtney has publicly called for dismantling Cover Oregon and shifting responsibility for the health exchange to state agencies. Kitzhaber says he agrees with that course, and will request legislation when lawmakers convene early next year. Republicans are insisting that Kitzhaber call a special session of the Legislature to end Cover Oregon now, rather than waiting for the regular session in January. That's not necessary. Cover Oregon should be dismantled. Exactly which state agencies should take over the work is a matter of debate: One of the candidates, the Oregon Health Authority, is tainted by its own role in the website debacle. But that debate can wait until lawmakers convene in 2015. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20140914/OPINION/140919848 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->