Florida Health Choices launches state exchange

MIAMI (AP) — The troubled Florida Health Choices program launched an insurance exchange Tuesday, after several delays, that is separate from the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

CEO Rose Naff delayed the launch last month after 10 times higher than anticipated interest in the site prompted technology experts to retool the website. But Naff announced they were open for business with a single vendor, which is offering five different plans, including a prescription discount card and bundled discount products that includes vision, dental, telemedicine and prescriptions.

The program is separate from Obama's federal health law and will not offer tax credits. Consumers seeking to buy insurance on the federal exchange who mistakenly end up on Florida Health Choices' site will be directed to healthcare.gov. For now, major insurers have not signed on to offer plans through Florida Health Choices and coverage under the program will not count as comprehensive health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Instead, Florida Health Choices will cater to consumers who don't like the president's law or may be seeking gap coverage, pharmacy discount cards and limited vision or dental plans. The program will add more vendors going forward, which will provide coverage for prepaid health clinics, primary care and outpatient visits. Florida Health Choices also hopes to offer some type of coverage to the roughly 1 million Floridians who make a bit too much money to qualify under stringent Medicaid standards but not enough to qualify for tax credits through the federal exchange.

Naff said she learned from the bungled rollout of the federal health law and delayed the launch several times to ensure the website was ready. Site capacity was increased to handle 30,000 users a day, including 1,000 simultaneous applications, she said.

Critics have complained that Florida Health Choices, the brainchild of former House Speaker Marco Rubio, started in 2008 and still doesn't have a single enrollee more than five years later. But Republicans, many who were eager to an alternative to so-called "Obamacare," have championed the program. Lawmakers have given Florida Health Choices about $1.5 million over the years.

Florida Health Choices hopes to enroll 67,000 consumers in its first year to break even. Naff said she isn't planning to ask lawmakers for additional funds this year.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2014/mar/04/fla-health-choices-launches-state-exchange/

Florida prepares to open its own health insurance exchange

Florida moves to open a state-run exchange

Florida may soon be operating its own health insurance exchange. The state has become a well known opponent of the Affordable Care Act , going so far as to seek the dismantling of the federal health care reform law through the Supreme Court as well as banning insurance navigators from working in the state. The state has missed its deadline to develop and operate a working exchange last year, meaning that a federal exchange has been set up for the state’s residents. Now, however, Florida Health Choices may soon be offering coverage.

Exchange finally shows signs of life after years of dormancy

Florida Health Choices was first established through state law in 2008. Since then, however, little has been done in regards to developing the exchange. Most of Florida’s legislative focus has been committed to opposing the health care reform law, but the state has found little success in this endeavor. State officials suggest that allowing the federal government to manage the health insurance market is dangerous and claim that the state should have more authority over the market. As such, Florida Health Choices is preparing to open itself to the public.

State-run exchange will not compete with the federal government

There is no news concerning which of the state’s insurance companies will be providing coverage through the state-run exchange. Rose Naff, CEO of Florida Health Choices, claims that the majority of Floridians are not purchasing coverage through the federal insurance exchange. Instead, these people are purchasing coverage through the private market. Naff suggests that the state-run health insurance exchange will not be competing with the federal government when it comes to selling policies.

STATE-RUN EXCHANGE EXPECTED TO BECOME OPERATIONAL IN EARLY FEBRUARY

Naff anticipates that the launch of the state-run exchange is only “a few days” away. The exchange is expected to begin operation in early to mid-February and will provide subsidies for consumers that can help them acquire the insurance coverage they need. The state-run exchange is expected to operate in a similar fashion to exchanges in other states, with Florida officials keen to ensure that the federal government has little control over the exchange itself.

http://www.liveinsurancenews.com/florida-prepares-open-health-insurance-exchange/8532045/

About 3,500 Floridians enroll in federal health exchange

About 124,000 Floridians applied for health coverage and some 3,500 selected an insurance plan through new federal exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act, according to figures released Wednesday.

The data released by the Obama administration covers Oct. 1, when the exchanges opened, through Nov. 2.

Overall, 106,185 people throughout the nation enrolled in a health plan through the health exchanges.

Among the 36 states where the health exchanges are fully run or supported by the federal government, nearly 1 million people applied during the first month, while 26,794 chose a health plan. Florida was tops in both categories among those 36 states.

Another 516,248 applied for coverage and 79,391 selected a specific plan during that same period among the 14 states (and the District of Columbia) that chose to operate their own exchanges. The exchanges are on-line marketplaces where consumers can shop for and compare health plans.

"No one will be satisfied with the numbers because they will be below what we sought prior to the launch," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

According to an Associated Press report, the administration hoped 500,000 people would enroll by the end of October.

But enrollment numbers were expected to be much lower following a rough rollout of the federal website, HealthCare.gov. Officials have been quick to say they have always expected that people would wait until closer to the March 31 deadline before actually purchasing a plan, as has been the case with past government programs, such as Medicare Part D.

The health insurance issue is particularly important in Florida where nearly 25 percent of residents under 65 lack coverage. Only Nevada and Texas have higher percentages of residents without coverage.

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a Senate committee she expected the enrollment statistics to be "quite low."

The news follows reports from an unnamed administration official saying the federal health insurance web site, HealthCare.gov, may not be working properly as promised by Nov. 30. White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park did not allay those concerns during a House committee hearing Wednesday.

His "team is working incredibly hard to meet that goal," Park said.

The Nov. 30 date is important because customers must buy insurance by Dec. 15 to be covered on Jan. 1. However, anyone who signs up by the end of enrollment March 31 will avoid a fee for not having health insurance in 2014.

Park said HealthCare.gov can now register 17,000 people and provide access for 25,000 per hour. He said the administration hopes to provide access for 50,000 people per hour.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20131113/NEWS45/131113021/About-3-500-Floridians-enroll-federal-health-exchange?nclick_check=1