WASHINGTON — The Obama administration Thursday awarded 49 grants to states and the District of Columbia to plan for new health insurance exchanges designed to help Americans shop for health plans beginning in 2014.
These state-based exchanges, a key foundation of the new health care law, are to become the central Internet-based marketplace for consumers who do not get health benefits at work.
By 2019, 24 million Americans are expected to shop for coverage on these exchanges, choosing among health plans offering a variety of benefits that meet basic government standards. Starting in 2014, most Americans will also be required by the law to get insurance, either through their jobs or on their own.
Massachusetts and Utah already have exchanges, which they created before the federal health care law passed in March. Most states, however, are just beginning to work on setting up their exchanges, which will likely require new Internet systems, new consumer assistance and new regulatory oversight.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the grants, each around $1 million, will help states begin designing these new systems and hiring needed staff.
Joel Ario, a former Pennsylvania insurance commissioner who is overseeing the federal effort, said the administration is also looking to state lawmakers to pass necessary legislation in 2011 to set up the exchanges.
