HHS Expands Health Insurance Exchange Grants
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Announced last week, HHS officials said states can use the Exchange establishment grants for a number of different activities, including conducting background research, consulting with stakeholders, making legislative and regulatory changes, governing the exchange, establishing IT systems, conducting financial management, and ensuring program integrity.
HHS secretary
When the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented in 2014, health insurance exchanges will provide individuals and small businesses with a "one-stop shop" to find and compare affordable, high-quality health insurance options. The information will be posted online in each state.
By allowing individuals and small businesses to band together to purchase insurance, exchanges are expected to lower costs. HHS said greater competition will be generated when the exchanges create transparency in the insurance market, enabling consumers to compare plans based on price and quality.
The Exchange establishment grants also recognize that some states are making progress toward establishing health insurance exchanges faster than others. To help states move forward on their own timetables, states that are moving ahead more rapidly can apply for multi-year funding, while states that are making progress in establishing their exchange through a step-by-step approach can apply for funding for each project year. Moving forward, states will have multiple opportunities to apply for funding as they develop their exchanges.
States are already taking their first steps toward 2014 when exchanges must be operational. For example,
Many of those activities have been funded by the
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