The Oregon House today gave final passage to a bill that will create a government-regulated health insurance marketplace called an exchange, extending coverage to nearly all residents.

, which creates the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange as a public corporation governed by a nine-member board, passed easily by a 48-to-12 vote this afternoon. The bill is on its way to the desk of Gov. John Kitzhaber, a supporter, for his signature.

, co-chair of the House Health Care Committee, introduced the bill during a 30-minute debate and noted that the federal government will create a health insurance exchange for Oregon if the state doesn't build its own.

"This is part of a process to develop and deliver a different kind of health care to Oregonians by design in Oregon," he said. "It is not over. It is just the beginning."

The exchange will be created within months and will begin selling insurance on Jan. 1, 2014 to businesses with 50 or fewer employees and individuals, including more than 600,000 Oregonians without insurance.

The exchange, which will operate in conjunction with the federal health reform law passed last year, will offer federal tax credits to help pay premiums on a sliding scale for people with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Residents without coverage must buy insurance or face a federal fine that will average $674 a year.

Gov. Kitzhaber in a prepared statement said the exchange will be accountable to Oregonians, not the federal government.

"Oregon's health insurance exchange puts the power into the hands of consumers and small businesses," he said.