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!

Health Insurance Exchange Update: Monday, August 6, 2012

Missouri State Flag

Despite the fact that a fight is waged against the new health care law, there are measures insuring what will be done on creating health care exchanges. Some states are voting for a consensus among the people, others want to get going but they do not have an idea of what the exchanges run by the government will entail and how much money will be used for the program. While others are standing, arms folded and refusing to play. Regardless, one way or another, the exchanges are going to be set up.

Missouri is so divided on the measure that there will be a vote to see if they should set up the exchanges or not. Though this news is a few months old, they are not even fighting over the exchanges anymore; they are still fighting over the wording of the referendum. The Washington Post reports that back in May, the General Assembly approved a ballot measure to set up the exchanges. The Republican-controlled legislature wanted to try and block Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, from establishing the exchanges by executive order. But Nixon stated that he does not plan to do that. Now the language used on the ballot was deemed biased and inaccurate by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder supposedly within minutes of its publication. So now not only will the people be voting for a president in November but also whether to set up exchanges. But the legislative body may be forgetting one thing: the federal government will set up their own exchanges.

With the bickering happening back and forth in Missouri, there are some states that are moving on in case the president remains in office.

The New York Times reports that the federal government will be covering more states than it had anticipating. The government will not have a one-size fits all exchange program set up, this will vary from state to state. But the article makes it clear that the federal government is not so transparent as other states. California, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Nevada have websites that show documents pertaining to their exchange marketplace. These documents show cost estimates, minutes of public meetings and information about goods and services.

The government, however, is vague about financing the exchange program and they have disclosed little information about their plans. This leaves officials like Thomas M. Hate, president of Landmark Benefits in New Hampshire, says that they have no idea what the federal government’s exchange will look like. He goes on to say that they have not been much communication between the state and federal officials.

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: Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Nevada State Flag

Today, the House will vote on repealing Affordable Care Act. This will not be the first time the House has voted to repeal this according to the Washington Post. This has occurred 32 times already, this will be number 33. There are however those in state offices who are electing to take action or gather all the information to figure out the full implications regarding the exchange marketplace.

The letter sent to 12 Senators and 61 House Members minutes after the health care law was upheld was signed by those who opposed it, Nevada elected not to sign the letter. As one of the 26 states that challenged the constitutionality of the law, Nevada will go ahead and begin to set up health insurance exchanges. Gov. Brian Sandoval moved forward with implemented the law his first day in office back in January of 2011. The governor expressed some concern over the constitutionality of certain parts but he realized that as long as the law is enacted, there were deadlines to meet. Nevada was awarded approximately $24.7 million in grants for to set up the exchanges. Nevada’s exchange is set to be operational by October of 2013. 

Gov. Mark Dayton of Minnesota sent a letter to Republican legislators to ask them to participate in helping create health insurance exchanges. However, a key senate leader wants to wait until the November election to begin implementing the provisions in the healthcare law. Gov. Dayton wants to urge state officials to act on this provision now or they will be forced to having to use exchanges set up by the federal government. But there are still proponents of the bill who want answers. Sen. David Hann wants to know how this is going to be affordable. Sen. Hann believes that exchanges will cost anywhere from $300 million to $400 million per year. Regardless of the opposition, the governor will be trying to move forward. 

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter wrote an op-ed piece sent out to various media outlets explaining that he will get all the facts about the exchanges before he does anything. He does not want to join other GOP governors who will continue to fight against the law and hope for a Mitt Romney win in November. But as Otter expressed in his piece, he wants to do what’s best for his constituents. 

Maryland’s governor, Martin O’Malley, is on track to establish the state run exchanges according to Youth Today. The early action taken by the governor has led to the creation of Maryland Health Benefit Exchange as a public corporation back in April 2011. Maryland Legislature approved policies for 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!