More insurance-exchange funding announced

A day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the healthcare reform law, HHS announced additional funding opportunities to assist states in developing insurance exchanges.

States have until Dec. 31, 2014 to apply for these additional 10 funding opportunities for either level one or level two grants. Level one grants provide up to a year of funding to states that have made some headway with their exchange planning grant, while level two grants are for those states that are farther along in the exchange process.

Friday's announcement about the latest set of awards—which can be used for state exchanges, state partnership exchanges, or federally facilitated exchanges—does not change the deadline date for state exchange approval. Mike Hash, interim director for CMS' Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, did not provide an estimate on the total value of this latest round of grants.

“That's a function of what the states propose,” Hash told reporters during a conference call. “They put in a plan; they indicate the functionalities,” and HHS will then review the applications and “award the funds appropriately,” Hash said.