Saying it is offering flexibility in carrying out the 2010 federal health law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed guidelines Monday for states to create insurance exchanges.
The exchanges, which must be ready to operate in January 2014, are a key part of the overhaul of the health-care system. They will operate in each state and provide a new type of market for small businesses and individuals to buy health coverage.
HHS released a proposed 244-page rule that offers details about carrying out the exchanges.
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said during a conference call with reporters that the federal government is trying to make the insurance market more “transparent,” while also giving states flexibility to design their programs.
“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution,” Sebelius said.
The federal government will create exchanges for any state that doesn’t carry out the requirement. But as one example of additional flexibility, HHS said it would give conditional approval to states in 2013 if they show progress toward being ready to start exchanges a year later.
Sebelius said HHS looked at exchanges in Massachusetts and Utah is designing the rule. But some states, such as Florida, have shown little progress toward creating an exchange — as Republican leaders object to carrying out the federal health law.
