California to Form First Health Insurance Exchange Insurance Consultant

California to Form First Health Insurance Exchange

Written on September 28, 2010 – 4:08 pm | by Gabrielle Scanlan

California officially became the first state that will form a health insurance exchange this week. Upon Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signing two key health bills on Thursday, health insurance options for the state may now widen for both small businesses and millions of uninsured individuals.

Bills Signed on Tight Deadline

The governor was faced with a tight deadline to get the health insurance bills (Senate Bill 900 and Assembly Bill 1602), as well as tons of other bills signed. These bills would establish the California Health Benefit Exchange, along with an independent, five-member oversight board appointed by the governor and Legislature that will define how the exchange will operate.

To encourage the governor to place urgency on the health bills, President Barack Obama called Schwarzenegger. He wanted him to get the bills signed so that they would be able to properly establish the new insurance marketplace in time for the federal deadline.

Exchanges Won’t Open Until 2014

Despite the president’s urgency in having the bills signed in 2010, the health insurance exchange for the state, along with all others, won’t be operational until 2014. However, since California is the “guinea pig” state because of the number of residents in need, the federal government will offer it $1 million to help get it developed with the possibility of more to come.

Schwarzenegger said in a statement that the success of national reform as a whole is reliant upon California’s initial success. “California is moving forward on reforms that will provide affordable and quality health care insurance,” he said.

The hope is that with getting this program off the ground, other states will be able to follow suit in time to create a successful marketplace in 2014 that will offer millions of uninsured affordable access to health coverage for many years to come.

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