State insurance exchange may need to be rebuilt entirely
Some health insurance exchanges in the U.S. may be too broken to fix. This is the case in Massachusetts, where state officials are suggesting that the exchange needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up. The state’s insurance exchange began serving residents in October 2013, but severe technical difficulties have prevented many people from using the exchange in any way. Now, the state is under pressure to fix the exchange, or cede control of it to the federal government.
State has until November to build a new exchange in order to be ready for a new open enrollment period
Massachusetts has until November 15 of this year to resolve the problems with its insurance exchange. This is when the new open enrollment period for the state’s exchanges is scheduled to begin, providing consumers throughout the country with access to exchange services in their states. Massachusetts is not the only state that has experienced troubles with its insurance exchange, but it is one of the very few whose exchange may be broken beyond repair.
Massachusetts to make use of a product that other states have used to develop their exchanges
State officials are expected to purchase a product that other states have made use of in building their insurance exchanges. This product will help Massachusetts design a more reliable infrastructure for its insurance exchange while also introducing new security features and ensuring that the state’s exchange can deal with the amount of online traffic it will receive in the future.
Federal government may take control of state’s exchange efforts if Massachusetts cannot fix its problems
If Massachusetts cannot fix its insurance exchange, it may have to give up its exchange to the federal government. Doing so would mean that the federal government would be responsible for developing a new exchange and the state would have limited control over this exchange and its impact on the local insurance market. Currently, Massachusetts officials are collecting feedback from state residents concerning their experiences with the exchange in order to develop a better system that can more adequately provide services to them.