Public-private effort proposed for California health insurance exchange
Californians will be best served and the goals of universal coverage best achieved if the state "harnesses existing enrollment channels and commercial marketplace infrastructure in a bold new public-private partnership" to accommodate a new health insurance exchange, according to an exchange development and administration firm.
New federal health reform legislation mandates that each state launch health insurance exchanges by January 1, 2014. It is designed to provide consumers' greater choice and affordability.
A new white paper released by CHOICE Administrators, a California-based health insurance exchange developer and administrator, says employing such a strategy will allow California to "enroll as many eligible persons as possible with the least possible disruption to individuals or employers."
California's Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net, Kaiser Permanente, Sharp Health Plan, Western Health Advantage, and numerous leading dental, vision, chiropractic and related ancillary benefit plans all employ CHOICE Administrator's flagship products, CaliforniaChoice, an exchange for the small and mid-sized employer market.
"This time California cannot afford to get it wrong," said CHOICE Administrators Executive Vice President David Duker. "The new exchange must work properly as millions of Californians will be depending on it. We want to advance into the conversation what we've learned from nearly 20 million member months of enrolling and administering coverage."
Health insurance exchanges allow an individual or small business to compare the costs and benefits of various health plans and access available subsidies and tax credits. According to the health reform bill, small businesses with up to 100 employees can purchase health coverage for their employees in the state exchange.
Beginning in 2017 states may allow businesses with more than 100 employees to purchase coverage in the exchange.
The white paper, "Toward a Successful California Health Insurance Exchange," notes that California's exchange will be entering a "mature health insurance distribution marketplace" and outlines how the state exchange could operate as both a standalone entity and as a collaborative partner with existing distribution and enrollment channels, such as CaliforniaChoice.
By harnessing private exchange partners and tapping into the existing network of brokers and other insurance agents, CHOICE Administrators President Ron Goldstein believes that California could achieve the goals set forth in the new health reform legislation "in the most efficient manner possible and without adding additional cost to the operations of the state exchanges."
"The state exchange needs to address the needs of the currently uninsured as well as those individuals and businesses that qualify for subsidies or tax credits," he said. "This calls for a broad and inclusive outreach."
