Pressure on Federal Health Insurance Exchange Increases as States Shun Responsibility

Pressure is increasing on the federal government to take over health insurance exchange implementation, as the Jan. 1, 2014 deadline looms and many states express inability or unwillingness to participate, according to a Washington Post report.

Healthcare experts are starting to ask whether the federal government will be able to step in and take over implementation for states that do not have health insurance exchanges ready by 2014. The federal exchange, like the state models, would be a website where individuals and small businesses could "comparison shop" for insurance.

According to the report, the Obama administration has been somewhat reluctant to provide updates on implementation progress. HHS did not respond to the Washington Post's request for comments.

According to the report, though federal officials are keeping quiet about implementation progress, they have signed contracts worth over $150 million with private contractors who are working on creating the exchange.

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