Overlooked Health Exchanges Key To Democrat Reform Plans

IBD Editorials ^ | June 23, 2009 | DAVID HOGBERG

[Kaslin]

In the health reform debate, "exchanges" haven't gotten much play. President Obama mentioned them almost in passing at Tuesday's press conference.

"Let's have a system, the same way that federal employees . . . (and) members of Congress do," he said, "where we call it an exchange, but you can call it a marketplace, where, essentially, you've got a whole bunch of different plans."

But despite their low profile, exchanges are key to all the major Democratic proposals in Congress.

Exchanges act as clearinghouses for health insurance policies, making it more convenient to shop — along with generous subsidies for lower-income households that could encourage people to drop existing private coverage.

Setting Benefits

Exchanges also would likely have the power to decide what kind of policies can be sold, setting everything from deductibles to co-payments to preventive services.

The Massachusetts Health Connector is the only exchange that exists. The MHC was part of the health reform championed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006.