Health Care Law Blog

Insurance Exchange Deadlines Further Extended

As we previously reported, the Department of Health & Human Services (“DHHS”) extended some important deadlines for states establishing State-Based Insurance Exchanges or State Partnership Exchanges for 2014.  Specifically, DHHS extended the submission deadline for State-Based Exchange Blueprints to December 14, 2012.  However, the administration previously still required states to submit Declaration Letters of their intent to build state-based Health Insurance Exchanges by November 16^th.  However, as of Thursday (November 15^th), only 17 states and the District of Columbia had committed to building their own Exchanges.  This is far fewer than envisioned by the Obama administration when the law was passed in 2010. To give states more time, the Obama administration extended the deadline for the Declaration letters until December 14^th.  Thus, both Blue Prints of the specifics of the Exchange and Declaration Letters of states wishing to run their own Exchange are due on December 14^th.

States options in regards to the type of Exchanges include:

1. state run Exchanges;
2. federally run Exchanges; and
3. state/federal partnership Exchanges.

If a State wishes to run its own exchange, it must let the federal government know by December 14^th.  States, however, that decide to go the state/federal partnership still until mid-February to alert the federal government of its choice of the state/federal partnership Exchange.

Categories: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchange, Insurance