Inside Health Policy looked to Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health, for insight into how states are planning to sustain exchanges.
Inside Health Policy reports that several state-based exchanges intend to add or increase user fees that are tacked onto insurance policies in an effort to be self-sustaining by the end of the year. As it stands, the ACA outlines user fees as the only way to fund state-run exchanges. State-run exchanges that fail to attract enough membership during the next open-enrollment period will need to find additional funds.
With some state-run platforms succeeding, it's possible that a federally facilitated exchange state could move to a state-run model without having to invest millions of dollars in technology. Platforms successfully implemented by one state could be adapted by another state and funded through user fees, suggested Ario.