More Updates on Health Insurance Exchanges.

From various sources:

NAIC publishes draft legislation for comment
Monday, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) published its draft model legislation to assist states in establishing insurance exchanges by January, 2014. Under PPACA and the NAIC draft legislation, a state may establish an exchange within or outside of state government or a combination of the two. NAIC will accept comments until October 6.

HHS awards grants to assess data requirements
Thursday, HHS awarded $1 million grants to 48 states and DC to assist in preparation for health exchanges infrastructure. The initial funds will be used to assess information and data requirements in each state.

California accelerates exchange timetable
Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed two bills that will make California the first state to establish a health insurance exchange per PPACA (Utah, Massachusetts had exchanges pre-PPACA). The exchange will create a web-based insurance plan marketplace for residents, offering standardized and detailed information about available plans, as well as a toll-free hotline to help consumers understand their options. Approximately 8.3 million Californians are expected to be eligible for coverage through the exchange. The program is expected to bring as much as $10 billion in subsidies for the state over ten years. An independent, five-member board will oversee the California exchange with responsibility for naming insurers that will participate, eligibility, and enrollment processes.

Congressional Research Service report: Can state exchanges prohibit plan participation?
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of PPACA, a state exchange could deny participation by every plan submitting certification if the exchange were to determine that every plan is not in the “interest of plan participation.” However, CRS analysts concluded the HHS Secretary could use her authority to prevent such a scenario.