Another Exchange Deadline Has Come and Gone, States Still Left Undecided |
February 15 was the final deadline for states to decide whether or not they wanted to enter into a partnership with the federal government or default to a federally facilitated exchange. Leading up to the deadline, six states had yet to make a decision and some still remained undecided. States that failed to formally notify the federal government of their decision automatically defaulted to a federally facilitated exchange. As of the deadline, the federal government will be implementing 26 state exchanges, which is way more than they had originally anticipated.The state-based exchange provision of PPACA was put in place to give state officials more control over their state’s health coverage marketplaces. But instead of embracing the idea of state control, many states took the “you want it, you build it” approach to exchange creation and implementation. The sheer workload, future costs and lack of guidance from the Administration also did not make the idea of creating a state-based exchange appealing to many states. |