Thursday, May 20, 2010

Kingsdale Article on Health Insurance Exchanges

The New England Journal of Medicine has recently published an article on health insurance exchanges, penned by Jon Kingsdale, PhD, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority.  Mr. Kingsdale asserts, plain and simply, that exchanges sell insurance and that a failure to enroll enough people is essentially a failure to achieve an exchange's core mission.  Exchanges were included in the recently passed health reform legislation - and experience widespread bipartisan agreement - because they facilitate a marketplace of managed competition where consumers can easily comparison shop for health insurance plans that fit their needs and budget.  In addition, exchanges offer administrative savings, a choice of high-value health plans, transparency in quality and price, and the ability to determine one's eligibility for subsidies and/or tax credits.

HealthPass, NYBGH's subsidiary health insurance exchange runs a similar exchange model except that it has focused on providing quality, affordable options to small businesses for over ten years.  The Massachusetts Connector, in contrast, first concentrated on enrolling eligible individuals and have only recently begun their efforts to increase the number of small businesses that offer health benefits.

Click here to access the full article.

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