Federal Versus State Exchanges – the Official Sites by State

Summary: The health insurance exchanges (marketplaces) are to begin open enrollment October 1, 2013 for coverage to become effective in 2014. Where can one find the official information for both state versus federal exchanges?

Federal Versus State Exchanges

Health Insurance Exchanges are marketplaces for those who are uninsured to seek insurance coverage. The marketplaces are up to the individual states as to whether to establish a state-sponsored exchange or participate in the federally-sponsored exchange. Currently, 17 states have elected and begun setting up their exchanges while the remaining states have opted for the federal exchanges.

Healthcare.gov (www.healthcare.gov) is the official site for the latest information on the exchanges. As such, there is a lot of valuable information. Some things to consider/checklist when researching insurance include:

• Definitions to differentiate between co-payments, deductibles, co-insurance, and maximum out-of pocket deductibles
• Checklist for income related information required to purchase insurance through the exchanges
  • Social security numbers
  • Income information for each family member (W-2, payment stubs, etc)
  • Policy numbers for current health insurance policies
  • Completed employer coverage tool
  • Know your budget allotted for health insurance to help choose a plan that is “affordable”
  • Know different options available such as Medicaid and Medicare

Pricing information will be available on www.healthcare.gov as of October 1, 2013, but general information can be accessed prior to this date.

Federal Exchanges

Following are the states which have elected not to setup state-sponsored exchanges and therefore by default will use the federally-sponsored exchanges.