Government Partners with States to Offer Health Insurance Exchanges

With only 17 states and Washington, D.C., currently signed up to run their own health insurance exchanges beginning in October, the majority of states will participate in federal government-run partnerships with the help of a grant program. That includes seven states that have signed up for partnerships. This means the Department of Health and Human Services, at least for the first year or two, will handle the technical side of things — like building the complex IT systems and helping people to sign up for coverage. And the state partners will maintain their traditional control over their health insurance markets. Partnership states can either run consumer assistance programs or oversee health plans in the exchange, or both. Whether states elect to run their own marketplaces or choose to partner with the federal government, health insurers will still be required to follow the new rules that fall under the Affordable Care Act’s coverage and consumer protection requirements.