As Deadline Passes, Only 18 States Plus D.C. Will Operate Exchanges

Have fun piecing it together, feds

With the passing of the Dec. 14 deadline for states to declare whether they intend to run state-based insurance exchanges, a total of 18 states and the District of Columbia appeared poised to run SBEs.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a Dec. 17 blog entry that 10 states had filed blueprint applications with HHS to set up SBEs under the Affordable Care Act. Applications were filed by California, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Utah. HHS is to act on the applications by Jan. 1, Sebelius said.