Vendors pitch MNsure on website upgrades
MNsure issued a request for information (RFI) from vendors this summer to improve the shopping experience for people who use the website when buying health insurance.
The ideas come at a time of uncertainty for government-run websites like MNsure, given Republican calls to repeal the law that created them.
"MNsure finds the ideas presented in the
The exchanges are an option for people who don't get coverage from an employer or government program like
MNsure stumbled badly out of the gate in 2013 with a balky website and overwhelmed call center. The website has improved since then, but officials this summer said they wanted to see what vendors might be able to offer.
The exchange in D.C. initially used the same commercial off-the-shelf products to build its website, Kofman wrote, and faced millions in annual licensing fees as a result.
"We now use open source code and an Agile approach," she wrote. "Open source code means that we no longer have licensing fees. The Agile approach allows us to make fixes, corrections, changes and enhancements quickly."
"Pricing approaches are flexible,"
A
Other responses came from
MNsure did not issue a formal request for proposals, but says it will discuss the information received with board members and legislators.
At the federal level, congressional
Many exchanges including MNsure are funded through a tax on insurance policies sold through the websites. Many who buy through a government-run exchange do so in order to tap federal tax credits provided by the federal health law, so repeal of the Affordable Care Act might eliminate a key incentive for using the exchanges.
Nonetheless, states that created their own exchanges might maintain the websites "so that consumers can still have that shopping experience," Cox said.
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