The U.S. has regained more than $200 million in funding given to states that struggled with enrollment and other issues in setting up their own health insurance exchanges, federal officials said, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Here are four things to know about the federal funding.
1. The $200 million is part of more than $4 billion the federal government granted to 17 states to help them establish their own health insurance exchanges. The money was granted under the Affordable Care Act.
2. The ACA required state exchanges to be self-sustaining by Jan. 1, 2015. However, the exchanges, especially in smaller states, struggled due to various issues such as lower-than-expected enrollment, expensive technology and call centers and low revenues, according to the report. Hawaii, Nevada and Oregon, for instance, gave up on their operations and now rely on the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, instead.
3. Although the U.S. has already regained more than $200 million, federal officials are looking to recoup more of the original grant funding, according to The Wall Street Journal. The publication notes CMS can recoup the funding if it is misspent. Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the CMS, recently cited examples such as Washington state's exchange, which improperly classified some federal funding.
4. Additionally, Mr. Slavitt said the federal government will not give any new money to states to fix exchange technology problems, adding that each state-based marketplace has the external funds necessary to run their own exchanges, according to the report.
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