Health Insurance Exchange Update: Tuesday, August 15, 2012

Nevada State Flag

Unlike yesterday's report, today's states are working on implementing a health insurance exchange.  Some states are focusing on the logistics of their exchanges and how they will run sustainability in the future.

At the Commonwealth Fund, they posted a podcast that looks at the current state of health insurance exchange.  Of the 34 states that have received federal aid, only 13 have started building their exchanges.  Many of these states have issued plans for their exchanges, but they remain vague enough to The final date of declaring a state will create its own exchange will be in November.

In the latest edition of the Focus on Health Reform from the Kaiser Family Foundation, they take a more in-depth look at where states are standing in terms of creating their exchange.  They also look at the partnerships some states looking to form in order to create a better exchange for their citizens such as Montana and Wyoming as well as Arkansas, Delaware and Illinois.

Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada has approved a contract to jump start the creation of their exchange, but believes in order to be successful it needs to be built to be sustainable.  According to Business Week, he is opposed to long-term funding of the exchange due to the money it would take away from Nevada's general fun.

In Illinois, they are looking to partner with the federal government for a year, then branch off to their own exchange.  They have issued a call looking for an IT company to come in and create, operate and maintain their digital exchange platform.  According to Modern Healthcare, they expect to abandon their joint exchange for an Illinois-only exchange by 2015.

NBC Miami looks at how the poverty level in some states that are thinking of not expanding Medicaid could affect those citizens who are just above the poverty line.

This November, the Health Insurance Exchange Congress will be held November 13-14, 2012 in Chicago, IL.  Here, state officials and health plans with the only opportunity to come together to discuss PPACA and strategize on how to make this a successful opportunity for all.  For more information on this year's agenda, download the program here.  As a reader of this blog, when you register to join us and mention code XP1710BLOG, you'll receive 15% off the standard rate!