SALEM — Remember when the message was “Long live Oregonians”?

With the first of the year quickly approaching, the state’s troubled health insurance exchange, Cover Oregon, has ditched the young woman strumming her guitar in the commercials and is singing a different tune: Look elsewhere for insurance coverage.

“If you haven’t heard from us, don’t wait,” said Cover Oregon spokesman Michael Cox on Monday.

For consumers worried about a gap in coverage who want to ensure they have insurance by the first of the year, Cover Oregon advises they go directly to the private insurance market to enroll.

Cox said Cover Oregon officials will continue to “feverishly work to complete processing all applications” this week.

As of Friday, the state’s troubled exchange had enrolled 11,000 people in private plans and about 19,000 had been enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s version of Medicaid. The state is working through a pile of about 65,000 to 70,000 total applications.

Cover Oregon has until Dec. 27 to process applications for January coverage. And there is still a chance consumers could hear from Cover Oregon this week. But to guarantee continuous coverage, it’s wise to look outside the exchange. For some, that will mean they won’t receive a tax subsidy in January.

The latest message comes after months of disappointing news from the state’s health care exchange, which was expected to launch on Oct. 1. The website is still not fully operational, and Cover Oregon has been forced to hire hundreds of people to process paper applications. Deadlines have been pushed, the man once charged with overseeing the exchange has taken medical leave, and the woman who oversaw the technological components for the state has resigned.

Gov. John Kitzhaber, who not long ago guaranteed everyone who wanted coverage by the first of the year and met the appropriate deadlines would have it, is now calling for an independent review of the website.

Loren Anderson with Anderson Insurance in Bend, one of the state-certified insurance agents, said he started advising people long ago to go the private route.

“I encouraged them to stay out of the (exchange) until the (state) figured it out,” Anderson said.

Officials from Mosaic Medical, which has clinics throughout Central Oregon, declined to comment on Monday. Mosaic Medical is a certified community agent. A spokesman said enrollment specialists were too busy processing applications.

Ruth Zdanowicz, 62, of Bend, is in the state’s high-risk insurance pool after having melanoma removed five years ago. She was able to enroll in the exchange on Monday with the help of a certified insurance agent.

The state said it would prioritize members of the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool, and a temporary medical pool for those members was also created to ensure no gap in coverage.

Zdanowicz said the process involved a lot of waiting.

“I’m not saying it was a great deal … but it wasn’t as bad as I thought,” she said.

Oregon, which opted to run its own health care exchange, embraced the Affordable Care Act early and was expected to be a leader in the health overhaul efforts. Instead, it’s turned into a black-eye for the state and will likely turn into a campaign issue for Kitzhaber as he campaigns for an unprecedented fourth term.

— Reporter: 541-554-1162, ldake@bendbulletin.com