One of the requirements of the Affordable Care Act involves the creation of health insurance exchanges. Recently, the Obama Administration gave conditional approval to the state-based health insurance exchanges of six states. Now, two more, and the District of Colombia, have gained approval. This brings the current total to nine.
When it comes to health insurance exchanges, there are three options that a state can choose from. They can create a state-based exchange. They can work on a partnership between their state and the federal government. Or, a state can choose to have the federal government create and run their health insurance exchange for them. Either way, the people who live in each state will have access to an exchange.
Recently, six states had their plans for a state-based health insurance exchange conditionally approved by the Obama administration. Those states are: Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington. These states had officially declared that they were intending to do a state-based exchange, and have been working in creating them.
Since then, three more state-based exchanges have been conditionally approved. They are Kentucky, New York, and the District of Columbia.
This makes a total of nine state-based exchanges that have been approved so far. A total of fourteen states (including the District of Columbia), has officially stated that they want a state-based exchange. This leaves the following states that have indicated that they want a state-based exchange to get approval: California, Hawaii, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Several other states have officially stated that they do not want to have a health insurance exchange. This is not an option. Instead, the federal government will create and run an exchange for those states. Some of the states that will have federal exchanges are: Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and Wyoming.
There also is a group of states that have not officially designated what, exactly, they want to do with their health-insurance exchange. If those states miss the deadline to officially submit plans for a state-based exchange that will mean it is no longer an option for them. There is another deadline for states that want an exchange that is a partnership between the state and the federal government.
Utah wants to have Avenue H approved as a state-based exchange. Idaho recently indicated it wants a state-based exchange. Pennsylvania has decided against having a state-based exchange.
Image by Bill Sodeman on Flickr