The state has not yet finalized its choice regarding whether or not it will run its own marketplace.
The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, has yet to give any indication as to what his decision will be regarding the creation and implementation of the health insurance exchange for his state.
The deadline for the choice is rapidly approaching, and is on November 16, 2012.
The decision that has to be made by this Friday is whether New Jersey will be operating its own online health insurance marketplace, or whether it will be handing that responsibility over to officials from the federal government, who will be doing this on the state’s behalf. If the state chooses to build and run on its own, then the first blueprints for the program’s implementation will need to be submitted along with the decision.
The health insurance exchanges are central to the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
The regulation says that the states must either decide to run their own health insurance marketplaces online, for individuals and small businesses that want to compare and buy plans, or the federal government will take over and handle it for them. These programs must be up and running by January 1, 2014.
Once the exchanges are operational, individuals, families, and small sized businesses will be able to look at the various types of health insurance plan that are available to them, compare the benefits that are provided, as well as the costs that are associated with them. These subsidized plans will help to make the coverage more affordable for those buying them independently as opposed to receiving it through their employers.
Earlier in 2012, Governor Christie had already vetoed one of the plans that had been put forward for establishing a health insurance exchange for the state. Afterward, he said that the reason for this decision was that he wanted to see whether or not President Obama was reelected before he made any final decisions about the issue. Last week, when asked about his decision, a spokesperson speaking on his behalf said that he would announce it “in due course”.
