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Regional Journalism

Mixed News For Northwest Exchanges As Enrollment Deadline Approaches

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Wikimedia

You only have until the end of this month to sign up for coverage using one of the new health insurance exchanges.

And if you’re planning to do it online at the last minute, how easy that will be depends on where you live in the Northwest.

In Oregon, it's still not possible to sit down at your computer and sign up for health insurance through Cover Oregon. Aaron Karjala, the program’s Chief Information Officer, recently told the exchange's board there are no plans to offer that function by the deadline.

"We can't be assured that it would improve our performance and our situation," he said.

Both a state and a federal probe are underway into the exchange's troubled roll-out.

Cover Oregon is signing up people through a paper application process and via insurance agents, but officials are pushing for an extension to the federal enrollment deadline.

Washington had a few hiccups early on with their online process, but the state recently passed 100,000 people signing up for private coverage.

As for Idaho, officials say they're doing well at number two in the nation on a per capita basis.