The Feb. 22 grant announcement was the latest indication about the number of states that ultimately may launch their own versions of the insurance marketplaces mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. States that do not both enact their own exchange laws and certify over the next 10 months their ability to launch an exchange by 2014 will have either a federal exchange or a hybrid of the two exchange types, known as a partnership, built by federal officials.
“What that means is that there are many states that are proceeding with work on either a state-based exchange or under the partnership model even though they don’t or may not yet have legislative authority,” said Steve Larsen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the CMS, in a call with reporters.
In separate actions, federal officials issued rules for both a waiver program (PDF) for states that want to provide more expansive insurance coverage than is required by federal rules and another to increase public access to Medicaid waiver information.
Rich Daly writes for Modern Healthcare, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, email editors@workforce.com.
Stay informed and connected. Get human resources news and HR features via Workforce Management’s Twitter feed or RSS feeds for mobile devices and news readers.
