There is a lot of discussion about the rapidly approaching January 1, 2014 deadline for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. States are ramping up and on Wednesday, September 11 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) regional offices will hold a 10 a.m. conference call to update consumers, insurers and government officials on a “wide range of issues.”
This call is specific to Pennsylvania stakeholders. Register for the call here: http://bit.ly/18G4JIk
What should participants be listening for? The issue we expect to be addressed in depth is the pending October 1, 2013 opening of the Health Insurance Marketplace. While Pennsylvanian will have access to a federal marketplace, stakeholders and in the process of ramping up its infrastructure to assist persons and entities interested in participating in the insurance exchange. HHS/CMS plans to share information on the Marketplace’s readiness, consumer support and outreach. We look to forward to hearing more.
We also hope a call like this will shed some light on other Pennsylvania-specific issues. The elephant in the room for state government right now is Medicaid expansion. Are there any areas where CMS may give a state like Pennsylvania flexibility for expansion? What kinds of things is CMS looking for from a state like ours? Will there be additional direction on work search requirements and eligibility benefits? These are key points for Governor Corbett and his administration and will have a significant fiscal impact on the state. It will be interesting to hear on Wednesday what the federal government is willing to share so Pennsylvania can move forward with more certainty as it develops public policy and budgets that comply with the new federal requirements.