States to receive insurance exchange grants

HHS is awarding nearly $49 million in planning and establishment grants to help 48 states and the District of Columbia set up their health insurance exchanges.

These grants “begin the path toward 2014,” the year in which the exchanges are scheduled to be up and running, Jay Angoff, HHS' director of the office of consumer information and insurance oversight, said during a teleconference. The exchanges “will create a marketplace in which insurers compete on the basis of price and quality, and enable consumers to get a better deal on heath insurance,” Angoff said.

Minnesota and Alaska are the only two states not accepting the startup funds, HHS officials said.

States will be investing the grant money in various research and planning activities to determine how their exchanges will be operated and governed, according to a statement from HHS.

Such activities include: assessing current information technology systems and infrastructure and new requirements; developing partnerships with community organizations to gain public input into the exchange planning process; planning for consumer call centers; determining the statutory rules needed to build the exchanges; and planning the coordination of eligibility and enrollment systems across Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the exchanges.