Some states are opting to create and run their own eligibility and enrollment platforms for ACA-compliant individual plans instead of using the federally run marketplace, according to a Georgetown University Health Policy Institute blog post.
Here are three notes from the blog post:
1. Author Rachel Schwab, a research associate at the institute's Center on Health Insurance Reforms, wrote that to save costs and flex more power over their marketplaces, a growing number of states are looking to leave the federal HealthCare.gov program to build and operate their own websites.
2. For the 2019 enrollment period, HealthCare.gov's fee for states to use the federal platform will double to 3 percent. The fee is based on a percentage of premiums. States shifting to their own platforms will get to keep the premium assessment collected in the state, rather than giving most of it to the federal government, according to Ms. Schwab.
3. The upfront investment on these types of platforms carry hefty price tags. However, some states anticipate the investment is worth potential savings. Nevada, for instance, plans to have its own enrollment platform running by 2020, and expects the switch will save more than $18 million over five years. New Mexico plans to save more than $8 million by 2025 by running its own exchange, according to the blog post.
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