Kaiser Health News Interviews Deborah Bachrach on States' Varying Assistance with Marketplace Enrollment
"State Spending On Consumer Assistance Could Have 'Huge Impact' On Marketplace Enrollment"
Kaiser Health News
May 5, 2013 - Kaiser Health News spoke to Manatt's Deborah Bachrach, a partner in the firm's Healthcare Division, on the varying funds that states have budgeted for assisting consumers with the new online health insurance marketplaces, opening for enrollment October 1, 2013.
Kaiser Health News reports that there is a wide variation in states' spending to hire and train people to provide consumer assistance in the first year of the new health exchanges. For example, Florida plans to spend $6 million to reach out to 4 million uninsured people, while the District of Columbia expects to spend $9 million assisting 42,000 uninsured. The wide variation could have a major impact on how many people actually get coverage under Obamacare, industry experts told the publication. One reason for the gap is that states relying on the federal government to run their marketplaces are getting less money than states setting them up themselves.
"It's a shame that we see states with lower rates of uninsured putting more money into education and outreach than states with higher rates of uninsured," said Bachrach.
A number of states are counting on help from private organizations. For example, the California Endowment has offered about $29 million to help California's outreach effort.
"While some private foundations and consumer groups will try to help, ultimately it's what states invest in education and outreach that's going to matter the most," said Bachrach.
Read the article here.