Tenth round of HIX funding released

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently awarded a tenth round of Health Insurance Exchange Establishment Grants. Awardees this time include Arkansas ($16.5 million), Hawaii ($128.1 million), Illinois ($115.8 million), New Hampshire ($5.4 million), and Rhode Island ($9.8 million).  

States are able to use these grants to improve and enhance key functions of their insurance exchange. Each grant is made through an extensive examination of funding requested by the state, in addition to an analysis to determine reasonable funding from the federal government. Establishment grants will continue to be awarded through 2014.

Here’s a look at key insurance exchange initiatives from this month’s awardees:

Hawaii: The state will be using funds to hire staff, develop and execute contracts as it continues to develop a robust insurance exchange system. CGI was awarded a $53 million contract in December 2012 to build Hawaii’s exchange. The state has also plans to procure for a Small Business Health Insurance Options Program (SHOP) exchange in the near future.  

Arkansas: The state will be using its award to fund an Arkansas In-Person Assister (IPA) Guide program to assist in the deployment of more than 500 certified IPAs to assist consumers across the state during open enrollment. The state chose the partnership model for its exchange and is currently in the process of securing health connector outreach and education campaign services.

Illinois: The state will be using funds for a variety of tasks including recommending qualified health plans, operating its IPA program, raising awareness for its exchange, and implementing systems. Illinois will also be utilizing the partnership exchange model and is in the final evaluation stages for selecting its insurance exchange project vendor.

New Hampshire: The state will be using funds to continue planning and developing its consumer partnership marketplace, which includes hiring consultants to add capacity and manage activities. New Hampshire will be moving forward with a partnership model for its exchange.

Rhode Island: The state will be using funds to assist in the design of its comprehensive IPA program, in addition to developing a product and delivery system for its state-based insurance exchange, which it awarded Deloitte a $105 million contract to build. Rhode Island is also in the process of securing contact center services for its exchange.

Want more? Be sure to check out Deltek’s latest report on insurance exchanges. Deltek’s database contains a wealth of information about states’ efforts in implementing insurance exchanges. Not a Deltek subscriber? Learn more and sign for a free trial, here.