New York Gets Go-Ahead To Set Up Insurance Exchange
By Jerry Zremski Buffalo News Washington Bureau Chief December 14, 2012
WASHINGTON – The federal government Friday gave tentative approval to
New York’s efforts to set up a health insurance exchange where uninsured
New Yorkers and small businesses will be able to shop for policies
starting next October.
The state has met the benchmarks it needs to meet in setting up the
exchange, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said.
“New York has made significant progress, and in 10 months will be ready
for open enrollment where New Yorkers will be able to purchase private
health insurance plans,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The creation of the state health insurance exchange may mean little to
New Yorkers who currently get health care through their employers, but
it will mean a lot to the uninsured, said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure,
director of coverage policy programs at the federal government’s Office
of Health Reform.
“It will be a one-stop marketplace where people can find the health plan
that meets their needs,” Brooks-LaSure said.
That’s something people will have to do starting in 2014 when, under the
Obama health law passed in 2010, most Americans will be required to have
health insurance.
New York will be ready when that day comes, said Donna Frescatore,
executive director of the New York Health Benefit Exchange.
The exchange already has a website,
http://www.healthbenefitexchange.ny.gov
<http://www.healthbenefitexchange.ny.gov/> . And starting in January,
the state will begin working with insurers that are interested in
offering insurance policies on the exchange.
And starting on Oct. 1, 2013, individuals and small businesses will be
able to start shopping for insurance on the exchange. In-person
“navigators” will be available around the state next fall to help people
navigate the exchange, Frescatore added.
New York is one of only 18 states that has opted to set up its own
exchange.
“We want to make sure the exchange is well integrated with our public
health insurance programs; we want it to be a seamless process,”
Frescatore said. “We also wanted to make sure the exchange was designed
to meet the needs of small businesses.”
New York has received $183 million in federal grants to set up its
exchange.
In contrast, many states – particularly those with Republican governors
– have instead opted to either let the federal government run such
exchanges or have set up a federal-state partnership. Some states have
worried that a state-run exchange eventually would be a costly burden on
state taxpayers.
“If Virginians are faced with running a costly, heavily regulated
bureaucratic exchange without clear direction from Washington, then it
is in the best interest of our taxpayers to let Washington manage an
exchange at this time,” Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Friday in a
letter to Sebelius.
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Most Governors Refuse to Set Up Health Exchanges
By Robert Pear New York Times December 15, 2012
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said Friday that more than half
the states had rejected its pleas to set up their own health insurance
exchanges, dealing a setback to President Obama’s hopes that Republicans
would join a White House campaign to provide health insurance to all
Americans.
Friday was the deadline for states to notify the federal government of
their plans, and administration officials had been hoping that Mr.
Obama’s re-election would overcome resistance to the new health care
law.
Federal officials said they knew of 17 states that intended to run their
own exchanges, as Congress intended.
Two of those states, New York and Kentucky, won conditional federal
approval on Friday for their plans to create and run state-based
exchanges. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human
services, also approved an application from the District of Columbia.
In seeking federal money, New York estimated that one million people
could obtain insurance through its exchange. In addition, said Josh
Vlasto, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the exchange will lower
the cost of coverage for many New York businesses.
But in Virginia, after more than a year of planning and research, Gov.
Bob McDonnell said his state would not operate its own exchange.
“Despite repeated requests for information, we have not had any clear
direction or answers from Washington until recent days,” Mr. McDonnell
said.
On Monday, Ms. Sebelius gave preliminary approval to state-based
exchanges being established by Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington.
The exchanges are online supermarkets where people can shop for private
health insurance and obtain federal subsidies to help defray the cost.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 25 million people
will eventually receive coverage through the exchanges.
Federal officials and federal contractors will set up and run the
exchange in any state that is unable or unwilling to do so.
Gary M. Cohen, a federal health official, said the administration “has
encouraged states to establish their own exchanges.” But, he added,
consumers will have access to affordable health insurance in all states,
regardless of who is in charge of the exchange.
The concept of an exchange is simple: Competition will drive down
prices. But operating an exchange is an immense technical challenge
requiring sophisticated information technology to digest and display
huge amounts of data on the costs and benefits of various insurance
plans.
The federal government and states face a series of deadlines in the new
year. On Jan. 1, Secretary Sebelius must determine whether each state
will be able to operate its own exchange in compliance with federal
standards. By Feb. 15, states must notify the federal government if they
want to help with selected tasks, like consumer assistance and the
supervision of health plans, in partnership with the federal government.
On Oct. 1, consumers can begin to enroll in health plans, for coverage
starting on Jan. 1, 2014, when most Americans will be required to have
insurance.
Administration officials said they were delighted this week when a
Republican governor, C. L. Otter of Idaho, announced plans to establish
a state-run exchange.
However, Mr. Otter’s rationale provided little comfort to the
administration. He said he did not want to surrender power to “federal
bureaucrats.” He denounced “the mandates and overreaching federal
authority of the Affordable Care Act.” He said the law “will do little
or nothing to reduce costs while force-feeding us coverage and
increasing the size and scope of government.” And he said his decision
could be rescinded if the State Legislature disagreed with him.
Pennsylvania seriously considered running its own exchange, but Gov. Tom
Corbett said on Wednesday that he would not pursue the idea.
“State authority to run a health insurance exchange is illusory,” Mr.
Corbett said. “In reality, Pennsylvania would end up shouldering all of
the costs by 2015, but have no authority to govern the program.”
In Tennessee, state officials did a huge amount of planning for a
state-run exchange. But Gov. Bill Haslam announced this week that he had
decided against the idea because the Obama administration had failed to
answer numerous operational questions.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey cited similar concerns in vetoing
legislation to establish a state-based exchange last week.
“New guidance continues to trickle out of Washington at an erratic
pace,” Mr. Christie said.
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