Utah Rep. Gov. Gary Herbert, has resisted making major changes to the state's
existing marketplace, which was built before passage of the federal
health law and is geared to small business.
"Generally, I would prefer a
state-based approach if I were to have the flexibility to stay true to Utah
principles," Herbert wrote Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius last month asking for approval. Acknowledging that Utah's exchange
was "atypical," Herbert suggested it serve as "the minimum
standard for all federally compliant exchanges."
At news conference, HHS officials
said Utah would still have to meet all of the law's requirements to get final
approval, including offering coverage for individuals, and hiring so-called
navigators to help consumers make decisions about what coverage to buy.
Ally Isom,
deputy chief of staff for the governor said "Because it's consumer-driven,
market-based and flexible, Utah's model is the right solution for Utah. Of
course we'll review the HHS announcement and determine if the conditions are
acceptable or reasonable for our state exchange—and that includes sitting down
with legislators—but there is nothing about Utah's path that changes as a
result of today's announcement."
The insurance exchanges are
scheduled to open for enrollment Oct. 1 with coverage beginning January 2014.
The exchanges are a key way the federal health law will extend health insurance
coverage to as many 30 million people starting next year.
Besides Utah, officials announced
Thursday they had given approval to state-run insurance exchanges in
California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Vermont. Previous approvals had
been given to Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and
Washington.
The latest tally means the majority of states will have exchanges run
entirely or partly by the federal government. The law requires the federal
government to step in if states fail to set up exchanges.
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