141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

289747
State of the nation's health insurance exchanges


Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Jennifer Tolbert, MPH, MSW, Associate Director, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington, DC
     
Health insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, are a key component of the Affordable Care Act and the places where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for affordable health coverage. As of February 2013, 17 states and the District of Columbia opted to establish a state-based exchange, 7 states were planning for a partnership exchange, and 26 states defaulted to a federal exchange. The authors will provide an overview of the state of the nation's exchanges, assessing early successes and failures during the open enrollment period and comparing the experiences of state-based exchanges to partnership exchanges and the federal exchange. The author will also examine public opinion in support of exchanges and how that relates to decisions of elected officials. Looking ahead, the author will discuss the opportunities exchanges provide for addressing public health priorities and improving population health, as well as the challenges to successful implementation of these goals.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Provision of health care to the public
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Define what a health insurance exchange is. Discuss how a health insurance exchange could improve access to affordable health insurance. Assess the status of health insurance exchanges in November 2013 and what that portends for full implementation of the Affordable Care Act on January 1, 2014. Discuss the opportunities the exchanges present for improving public and population health.

Keyword(s): Health Reform, Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: as the Director of State Health Reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation, I lead an initiative monitoring state implementation of health reform, with a particular focus on state efforts to create health insurance exchanges. We have developed an interactive tool that tracks state decision-making related to the exchange, as well as profiles of each state's progress in a number of areas: plan management, consumer assistance, IT development, affordability for low-income populations, and financing.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5093.0: Health Insurance Exchanges: Countdown to 2014