The federal government spent a total of $474 million on the development of four state-based health insurance exchanges that floundered because of technical problems, according to a Politico report.
Massachusetts spent $57 million on the Massachusetts Health Connector, which has been plagued by technical issues. As of mid-March, the state was still working on its exchange and had about 84,000 residents on temporary health insurance plans. Last week, the state officials announced plans to replace the flawed exchange site with new, off-the-shelf enrollment software, with HealthCare.gov as a backup option in case the switch to the replacement software takes too long. The state is seeking an additional $121 million in funding for the repair effort, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Maryland spent $118 million in federal funding on its state-based exchange, which crashed not long after it launched last fall. As of March 28, only 49,293 people had enrolled in private health plans through the exchange, far short of the 150,000 people Maryland had hoped to sign up by March 31. The exchange's board of directors has decided to replace the technology behind the glitch-ridden Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
The federal government also granted $248 million in funding for Oregon's health insurance exchange, Cover Oregon, which was plagued with technical problems. Last month, the board overseeing Oregon's health insurance exchange voted Friday to abandon the glitch-ridden state-run exchange site in favor of relying on HealthCare.gov for the 2015 open enrollment period.
Nevada's similarly glitch-ridden exchange cost the federal government $51 million. The future of the state's exchange is still uncertain, according to Politico.
Despite the trouble those states have encountered with their exchange sites, most state-based Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exchanges have been successful, with several (Vermont, Connecticut and the District of Columbia) exceeding projected 2014 enrollment by March 1, according to a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute.
More Articles on State-Based Exchanges:
Report: PPACA Enrollment Success Depends on More Than Exchange Structure
The 22 States That Exceeded PPACA Exchange Enrollment Expectations
6 Key Statistics on PPACA Enrollment for 2014
