And this is certainly not unique to Oregon.

Via OregonLive:

A large number of people who’ve signed up for private health insurers through the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange have not paid their first month’s premiums, meaning they are at risk of going without coverage through November.

“I’ve already had clients not pay and lose their coverage,” says Lisa Lettenmaier, who owns the health insurance brokerage Health Source NW in Tigard. “It’s imperative for people to pay their premiums on time.”

This year, for the first time, most people who don’t have health coverage risk a federal tax penalty that runs as much as 1 percent of household income.

If consumers selected a private plan but didn’t pay their first month’s premium, their enrollment won’t go into effect — meaning they may be out of luck until the next open enrollment in November.

That applies not only to Cover Oregon policies, but policies purchased directly from carriers as well. But Cover Oregon offers a microcosm of the market in general, brokers and agents say.

More than 81,000 people went through through Cover Oregon – either through paper or electronic applications—to select a private health plan. Of those, 5,000 have already cancelled policies or been terminated for lack of payment. Thousands more have not yet paid their first-month’s premiums, meaning their have not completed their enrollment, according to carriers.