The Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange has been awarded a $107 million grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Connecticut is the sixth state to receive a Federal Level-Two Establishment Grant for the creation of a state health exchange under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Connecticut’s governor, Dannel Malloy, said: “The Affordable Care Act, which has unnecessarily become a political punching bag, has one noble, overarching goal: to expand access to more affordable healthcare to nearly every American.”
The act makes it possible for states to operate public health exchanges. They act as marketplaces where US citizens can buy health insurance from participating providers.
The federal grant will fund the implementation of Connecticut Exchange operations, IT systems, and communication and outreach.
“After a year of hard work developing our own state-based exchange, we are one step closer to that goal. This latest grant reaffirms our commitment and readiness to implementing this innovative new way for state residents and small businesses to access affordable health insurance.”
In June, the US Supreme Court upheld the ‘individual mandate’ requirement of the Affordable Care Act as constitutional, after 13 US states challenged its legality.
The court found that the ‘individual mandate’, which requires US citizens to either buy insurance or face a fine, falls within US Congress’s constitutional power to levy taxes.
In a recent blog post, risk management firm Surgical Excellence said that the Affordable Care Act will have significant implications for health insurers.
It said: “Health insurers, faced with shrinking member enrollment and now mandated to spend 80-85 percent of the healthcare dollar on actual clinical care, will be targeting the spending of those dollars on value-based-purchasing: reimbursing care that achieves quality outcomes efficiently.”