Health Insurance Exchange Update: Friday, September 7th

With the elections underway, many states are still on the fence about making a decision regarding the health insurance exchange.  Few have even proposed to wait until after someone is elected in November to submit their decision.

Kentucky’s online market place will proceed without a vote by the state legislative committee. At the urging of Republican members, the Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare delayed a vote in August on regulations crafted by Gov. Steve Beshear's administration that would establish a health benefits exchange. If the committee takes no action to block the regulation, it automatically goes into effect, and at this time the committee is not scheduled to meet until September 19^th.

Kansas has still not decided which health insurance exchange services they will provide. According to Insurance Commissioner, Sandy Praeger, if they don't come to a decision soon, the Department of Health and Human Services will choose one for them. The state has set a deadline for Sept. 30^th, however Gov. Sam Brownback wants to wait until after the Nov. 6^th election to make a decision.

And yesterday in Lincoln, the second health insurance exchange hearing was held. Just like the governor of Kansas, Nebraska's Gov. Dave Heineman would also like to wait until after the election to make a decision. The three options are: being state run, federal run and a hybrid of state and federal.Three CEO's of major insurance companies in the state sat in a panel discussion with the mayor. The essential benefits are still undetermined.

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!

Health Insurance Exchange Update: Monday, August 20, 2012

Maryland State Flag

Last week here on the blog, we focused on creating a strong IT presence for a healthcare exchange.  In today's update, we see a number of state prepping for their exchanges by partnering with IT firms.  For those who are not, many states are delaying their discussions as long as they can to avoid creating an exchange for their state.

As IT is such an important part of the healthcare exchange, many professional services catering to the industry are seeing a boost in the contracts they are receiving.  According to the Washington Post, there have been 75 contracts awarded nationally in relation to the new health insurance exchange.  They point out that 14 of these contracts have been signed Maryland and Washington, DC.  These two states have committed to building their own exchanges to prepare for the deadline in 2014.

Utah, one of the current states already running an Exchange, has partnered with Certifi as their financial partner for their exchange.  According to Visual Strategy, they will be responsible for responsible for processing all necessary invoicing, collections and disbursements of insurance premiums and commissions.

In Missouri, a restraining order has been issued after the Secretary of State blocked a ballot summary referencing the vote for the Heath Insurance Exchange in Missouri.  Many believe that the question is misleading and will not lead to a fair vote for Missourians when they are voting for a state or federal run health insurance exchange.  The ballot question referenced is: Shall Missouri law be amended to deny individuals, families, and small businesses the ability to access affordable health care plans through a state-based health benefit exchange unless authorized by statute, initiative or referendum or through an exchange operated by the federal government as required by the federal health care act?  According to Missourinet, they believe the ballot is bias.  The courts will issue a ruling on August 28.

In Kentucky, the vote for the creation of an exchange by the Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare has been delayed until the next session. They claimed there was not enough information on how it would work and operate to vote properly. The federal government would pay for the exchange the first year, then pass the costs off to the states. The Lane Report claims that it would cost the states $67 million in the second year of operation.

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!

Health Insurance Exchange Update: Monday, July 16, 2012

Kentucky State Flag

States have little time to sit back and weigh options as it pertains to setting up exchanges. There are deadlines that need to be met and they are approaching fast. Nonetheless, some governors are still waiting until the November election, some are doing number crunching to find out what this will do to the state budget, others are trying to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. Other than Wisconsin not doing anything regarding implemented the exchanges, states like Virginia and Nebraska are now waiting until this November according to the Chippewa Herald. Fearing over hurting state budget combined with hope of a new president, governors are not budging from their stance. But the more times passes, the less time states have to create a marketplace tailor-made for their state.

Met with the reluctance from health care opponents, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will have to get the House Republicans on board with creating the exchanges. According to the Daily Press, the House blocked the administration’s effort to receive $9 million dollars in federal money until after the ruling. But now that the state was granted the money, the governor is hoping that the House like the Senate will approve of the exchanges to put the funding in use. Even while Michigan is attempting to run their own exchanges, they are in contact with the federal government about a possible partnership.

Wyoming will take cautious steps in implementing the exchanges. According to Wyoming News, the state wants to gather information and see what are the necessary steps are needed to make the right decision for the state. Anne Ladd, the chief executive officer of the Wyoming Business Coalition on Health brought up the fact that Wyoming was far behind other states. She believes that the State and federal government will have a partnership for 12 to 36 months and then the state will be on their own. 

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear alerted the federal government that he will set up state-run exchanges according to ABC News. Gov. Beshear sent the letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebellius to tell her of his plans for the exchanges. After the Supreme Court ruling, the governor said that the state would move ahead in creating the exchange for Kentuckians. The governor also had some of his Kentuckians that they wanted the exchanges set up for their benefit. Kentucky is the 16^th state to set up the state-run exchanges.

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!