By Dave Gram, Associated Press
posted
Jan 10, 2013
When it comes to federal money to help states set up health care
exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, you might expect that
California would rank first and New York second.
But here's a surprise: Tiny Vermont comes in at No. 3.
An Associated Press analysis of data from the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services shows Vermont has been granted more than
$158 million so far in these early stages of compliance with the
federal law to help set up the new regulated health care
marketplace. The new systems are scheduled to be up and running in
October.
California so far has gotten about $236 million, New York about
$183 million. Vermont's population of about 630,000 would make it
California's fifth largest city.
"We've been very aggressive in trying to bring down federal
dollars that will ensure that the assistance that Vermonters will
need in making the transition to purchasing health coverage through
the exchange is there," Mark Larson, commissioner of the Department
of Vermont Health Access, said Friday.
Vermont also got an earlier start than many other states, some
of which had held back to see if the 2010 federal health care
overhaul might be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court or turned
back by a Republican victory in the 2012 presidential election,
Larson said.
"Certainly, there have been a number of other states that have
been waiting for the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling and
waiting for the outcome of the election," he said, and have not
pursued every funding opportunity that Vermont and a handful of
other blue states have.
Since plans for the federal health overhaul still stand, other
states are expected to step up with funding requests, and totals
sent from Washington are sure to change.
Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin and the Democratic-controlled
state Legislature have been fully on board with the idea of
increasing the government's role in health care. After the federal
government in 2010 rejected the so-called "public option" -
government-run insurance available to all -Vermont embraced it.
In 2011, the state passed a law putting it on a path toward
using the exchange, called for under the federal law, as a
springboard to what's expected to be the closest thing in the
country to a Canadian-style, government-run health insurance system
by 2017.
But the first order of business has been setting up the
exchange, to be called the Vermont Health Connect. Robin Lunge,
director of health care reform for the Shumlin administration, said
one of the challenges has been explaining to the public what the
exchange is and how it will work.
Many consumers will find it similar to an online travel site
like Orbitz or Expedia, except instead of comparing the prices of
airline flights, what the baggage fees are and what times the
flights leave, they will be comparison shopping for health
insurance plans. For those less web-savvy, plans call for the
exchange to pay for "navigators," people who can guide consumers
through the process of using the system.
Lunge attributed Vermont's funding success to early and thorough
applications for federal grant money, adding that early states are
likely to be seen as examples for those that follow.
"We documented our needs and our requests. It's not like they
added bonus money or anything like that," she said.
