Mark your calendars – on July 1, 2010, HHS plans on
launching the new health reform web portal to provide state-level information
about affordable health coverage options. In anticipation of the launch,
regulations were
released today detailing what information the portal will include and
how the data will be collected.
The portal will be designed to help individuals and small
businesses learn about coverage options in their state. It will include
information on:
- Medicaid and CHIP,
- Health coverage options offered on the individual
market, - Existing state high risk pools, as well as the new high
risk pools established by the PPACA, and - Coverage within the small group market for small
businesses and their employees.
In order to promote the ability of consumers to
understand the information, it will be provided in a standardized format
designed to “minimize the use of technical language, jargon, or excessive
complexity.”
As July 1st is a pretty tight timeline, the initial
release of the web portal will only contain basic
information on issuers and their products. Consumers will be able to learn
about issuers that sell individual and small group products in their area and
follow links to benefit information for those products, as well as access some
educational information on the individual market. The portal also will include
information for small businesses and coverage available through the high-risk
pools.
A more comprehensive version of the portal will be
launched in October. This version will have benefit and pricing information,
including premiums, cost sharing options, types of services covered, coverage
limitations, and exclusions.
Importantly (and beginning with the initial launch in
July), the portal will also provide information on eligibility and services for
Medicaid and CHIP, including contact information and websites for the state
programs. (Think of it as an upgrade on insurekidsnow.gov with coverage options for parents and adults,
too!)
Having all this information in one place will help
families learn about and connect with Medicaid and CHIP, as well as other
sources of coverage, and provide the tools that enable more people to obtain
health insurance between now and 2014.