How do you spend $305M with nothing to show for it???? Was Cover Oregon a criminal enterprise? Who stole all the money?
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) April 24, 2014
It's official: Oregon dropping its Obamacare exchange — #FF @ChelseaKATU #liveonk2
— David Freddoso (@freddoso) April 24, 2014
Cover Oregon, the state’s Obamacare exchange, was a train wreck from the start and just kept getting worse.
KATU reporter Chelsea Kopta had the news today that Cover Oregon will likely fold, and what state officials plan to do with the unspent federal money (spoiler alert: It doesn’t involve giving it back to federal taxpayers).
BREAKING: @CoverOregon tech committee recommends moving forward w/*federal exchange* for quality health plan #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
Based upon risk schedule & cost we recommend moving forward w/Fed exchange & leverage current investment 2 support Medicaid in OHA#liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
#liveonk2 pic.twitter.com/bCYqdHQ4uc
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
Alex Pettit: "OR had a very ambitious vision and not w/o merit" but given constraints and schedule, this is really where we're at" #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
Pettit says he's going to Washington D.C. Monday and Tuesday to nail down details so @CoverOregon can move to fed exchange #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
Recommended
Clyde Hamstreet, interim @coveroregon exec dir: "we've had to deal with realities of the situation…" #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
If you've already enrolled, @CoverOregon says your coverage is fine. It's *possible* you may have to re-enroll in Nov #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
@CoverOregon says if you haven't enrolled for insurance yet, still apply through http://t.co/8tjqSBKJFD website through Apr 30 #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
It's up to @CoverOregon board to make *official* decision to go to fed exchange at board meeting tomorrow #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
Exactly how much federal money did Cover Oregon spend on the colossal failure?
https://twitter.com/KristinaRibali/status/459398779150430210
@KristinaRibali @Ddad99 @kerpen @BrianFaughnan @CoverOregon that's right but haven't used all of it. Hamstreet says about $248M so far
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
Clyde Hamstreet, @CoverOregon interim dir, says CO has spent about $188M & OHA spent $60M = $248M #liveonk2
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
So Cover Oregon hadn’t yet spent all the federal money, which leads to the question of the day:
@KristinaRibali So we federal taxpayers get the money back, right??? @BrianFaughnan @CoverOregon @ChelseaKATU
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) April 24, 2014
And the unsurprising answer:
@kerpen @KristinaRibali @BrianFaughnan @CoverOregon No. State CIO says OR is keeping the $$
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKopta) April 24, 2014
They can just keep it? A little bonus for all the failure?
Can ANYONE explain to me how it's OK for Oregon to keep the remaining $57M????
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) April 24, 2014
We’ll have to wait and see about that.
When it goes, Cover Oregon will take with it millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars, but leave behind one of the weirdest promotional ads of all time:
Wow. Real hard to believe things didn’t work out, isn’t it?
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