HHS awarded seven cooperative agreements with funding of $241 million to help a group of “Early Innovator” states design and implement the information technology infrastructure needed to operate health insurance exchanges. Using the new funds, the selected states will develop Exchange IT models that can be adopted and tailored by other states.
The “Early Innovator” states to receive funding include:
• Kansas: Kansas Insurance Department ($31,537,465)
• Maryland: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ($6,227,454)
• Multi-State Consortia: University of Massachusetts Medical School ($35,591,333)
• New York: New York Department of Health ($27,431,432)
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma Health Care Authority ($54,582,269)
• Oregon: Oregon Health Authority ($48,096,307)
• Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Health Services ($37,757,266)
All “Early Innovator” states will have to be committed to developing technology that is reusable and transferable. Using the grants, the states will provide models for how Exchange IT systems can be created. At the same time, states will continue to have the flexibility to develop an Exchange that best meets the needs of their unique health insurance market.
Go to www.HealthCare.gov/news/factsheets/exchanges02162011a.html for more information.
