Joel Ario Speaks to National Journal on States Waiting to Set Up Insurance Exchanges
"States Can Safely Put Off the Insurance Exchanges"
National Journal
January 10, 2013 - Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health Solutions, spoke to the National Journal about the ups and downs of states putting off health insurance exchanges.
The National Journal reports that the states that missed last year's application deadline to launch state-run health insurance exchanges next January may see advantages of being late adopters. If they take control back from Washington down the line, the late states will have been able to learn from the mistakes made by others.
Recently, leading-edge states have been struggling with murky regulatory guidance, inexperienced IT vendors, and policy questions. By the end of 2014, states on the sidelines will have a clearer idea of which systems work well and which ones don't.
"Over time, [technology] improves and the systems get easier to manage," said Ario, who used to run the Obama administration's exchange operation.
However, the disadvantage to states waiting to create an exchange is that it will be harder to get participants to switch over. In addition, federal money to help states may also dry up. Ario thinks early adoption will be worth the trouble.