The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has allocated a total of about $35 million in health insurance exchange establishment grants to three states – Indiana, Washington State and Rhode Island.
If the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) takes effect as written, it will create a new system of state-supervised health insurance distribution exchanges starting in 2014.
The exchanges are supposed to help individuals and small employers buy subsidized health coverage.
A state can create one exchange or several exchanges, participate in a multi-state exchange, or let the federal government provide exchange services for its people.
Indiana is getting about $6.9 million that the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration can use to set health exchange information systems and pay for project management, legal, actuarial, and financial expertise and general policy support.
Rhode Island is getting $5.2 million for the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.