The Golden State is now working on the first of the marketplaces in the country.
An industry expert in California has said that it will be interesting to watch how the state works on developing the first health insurance exchange in the country and then implements it for use by its residents and small businesses.
California has now received its federal government funding in order to implement the marketplace.
In fact, the state is now the recipient of $674 million federal dollars for the implementation of its health insurance exchange. These funds came in the form of a two year grant that is designed to pay for California’s implementation of the first online marketplace in the country. This is one of the central elements of the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare reforms.
The health insurance exchange will allow consumers to compare and shop for different coverage plans.
Despite the fact that the state didn’t receive as much money as it had anticipated, it still feels confident in the launch of the health insurance marketplace which, they have stated will be “biggest transformation of America’s healthcare system” in a half century. In order to comply with the healthcare reforms, it must be up and ready by the start of 2014.
According to expert Sally Pipes, from the Pacific Research Institute, the establishment of the online marketplace could turn out to be more challenging than is currently expected. She also cautions that there will be some people who feel disappointment with the outcome. Pipes feels that there may be a considerable number of uninsured Californians who opt to pay the tax penalty instead of using the exchange to purchase health insurance coverage.
Covered California has already presented a number of challenges to its developers. However, the additional funding has now been received, and the federal government will be monitoring the progress and achievements of the exchange.
Another aspect that has yet to be seen is the impact of the exchange on the health insurance premiums that are being charged. While some feel that it will help to keep coverage affordable, others predict that costs will skyrocket as insurers are not allowed to turn down anyone who applies for coverage.