State officials did such a good job with the launch of Cover Oregon, the $300 million health care exchange that sank at the dock, that we understand why they don’t want to tell anyone what’s going on now.

Leading up to the scheduled launch of Cover Oregon in 2013, state officials assured the public there was nothing to worry about. The health insurance website would work!

But then, surprise! The thing didn’t work after all. Notwithstanding the state’s assurances, people who wanted to obtain coverage through the site couldn’t.

The failure was profoundly embarrassing, and state and federal investigations followed. Then there were the lawsuits between the state and software giant Oracle over who was responsible for the debacle.

The legal battle has been settled, but the state’s problems may not be over. Consequences could loom for the state’s budget.

A bill recently introduced in Congress would require states to pay back federal money spent on failed exchanges. Oregon poured hundreds of millions of federal dollars into the black hole of Cover Oregon. According to a story by The Bulletin’s Taylor W. Anderson, representatives from Gov. Kate Brown’s office and the federal government apparently have been meeting, possibly to discuss whether any of the federal funds must be repaid.

But they’re not providing any details. The parties involved all have come up with different ways to say next to nothing.

Brown’s office referred all questions about the negotiations to Oregon’s Department of Justice on the advice of a lawyer. The department confirmed that meetings have taken place but wouldn’t say a word about the discussions.

A spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services also joined the “no comment” bandwagon.

Why are they all so tight-lipped? Oregon legislators and taxpayers are facing what could be a $1.4 billion shortfall going into the next legislative session.

It sure would be nice to know if it’s going to be even bigger. They could also dare to be honest with Oregonians if they don’t know.

It could be worse, though. At least this time, no one’s assuring the public everything’s going to work out fine.