States Refuse to Set Up Healthcare Exchanges

The Obama administration announced last week that more than half of the states refused to set up their own health insurance exchanges.

Last Friday was the deadline for states to notify the federal government of their plans, according to U.S. News. Administration officials had been hoping the re-election would overcome resistance to the new healthcare laws. According to the New York Times, the count was 18 states who intended to run their own exchanges.

The exchanges will be online supermarkets where people can shop for private health insurance. Individuals will also be able to obtain federal subsidies to help alleviate the costs. Each exchange will operate a website where uninsured residents of the state and small employers can compare various health-plan options offered by insurance companies. The exchanges are designed to be similar to the way consumers shop online for hotel rooms and airplane tickets.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that some 25 million people will be covered under the new exchanges. By default, the federal government will implement health insurance exchanges in the twenty-five states that refused. An additional seven states will operate in federal-state partnerships.

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Our services include risk surveys and assessment, loss prevention, claims monitoring, intervention, and more. Contact Sinclair Risk & Financial Management today for more information about our Connecticut healthcare insurance programs.