Feds take steps to bolster finances of state-run health exchanges
The Obama administration on Friday proposed a new type of partnership between state and federal health marketplaces in an attempt to address the mounting financial pressures on state-run exchanges.
Under the new model, states would be allowed to use federal resources like call centers or website platforms while maintaining their own decision-making power.
{mosads}The model, called “state-based exchange on the federal platform,” would allow states to “leverage the economies of scale,” the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wrote in its proposed rules.
States would “retain responsibility for plan management functions,” HHS said.
The proposal, which was tucked inside a nearly 300-page rule released late Friday, comes at a volatile time for many of the 13 state-run exchanges. Starting next year, states will lose out on millions of federal dollars supporting the exchanges.
A number of states have already been quietly considering merging their healthcare exchanges under ObamaCare amid big questions about their cost and viability.
Several states have looked into a technology-sharing system, in which multiple state health departments all hire the same private contractor. Those states could also use a regional call center or outreach team.
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