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Hawaii state insurance exchange to shut down
Fierce Health Payer ^ | May 11, 2015 | Brian Eastwood

Posted on 05/12/2015 8:53:08 AM PDT by Incorrigible

Hawaii state insurance exchange to shut down

Hawaii Health Connector never achieved financial sustainability

May 11, 2015 | By Brian Eastwood

The Hawaii Health Connector will shut down operations on Sept. 30, InsuranceNewsNet reported.

The exchange site will cease new enrollment this week, discontinue its outreach programs at the end of May and transfer its technology assets to the state by Sept. 30, the article said. The exchange's 37,000 enrollees can re-enroll on the federal Healthcare.gov exchange for the 2016 plan year.

Hawaii Health Connector has faced financial problems from its inception. A report issued earlier this year found that the exchange would not be financially sustainable until 2022, FierceHealthPayer previously reported. Because the Affordable Care Act required state exchanges to be financially sustainable by 2015, the federal government deemed Hawaii's exchange non-compliant, INN said.

In addition, Hawaii Health Connector has failed to comply with the ACA mandate that state exchanges integrate with Medicaid's system for determining subsidies and tax credits. If the state cannot do this by November, it risks losing $1 billion in federal funding for Medicaid, according to INN.

After exchange Executive Director Jeff Kissel failed to obtain the state legislature's approval for $28 million in bonds or loans, he sought $5.4 million from the state to continue exchange operations, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The legislature gave Hawaii Health Connector only $2 million.

The current enrollment figure of 37,000 exceeds the exchange's goal of 27,260 enrollees by June 30, the Star-Advertiser reported. However, the exchange needs 70,000 enrollees to achieve financial sustainability, INN noted.

State officials told the Star-Advertiser that they will work to ensure that the transition to Healthcare.gov affects only individual plans and not the state's Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange. That's because insurance plans that comply with the state's Prepaid Health Care Act, which requires employers to subsidize health insurance, are only sold on the SHOP exchange.

Hawaii would be the second state that set up an insurance exchange to move to the federal exchange. Oregon made the switch to Healthcare.gov in April 2014 after more than a year of technical issues. Vermont is mulling a switch to Healthcare.gov, as well.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Hawaii
KEYWORDS: 0carenightmare; aca; exchanges; federalexchange; hawaii; healthcare; obamacare; obamacarebusinesses; singlepayer
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Not even in the state President Obama was born in (ahem) is Obamacare successful.
1 posted on 05/12/2015 8:53:08 AM PDT by Incorrigible
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To: Incorrigible

It’s like a really slow train wreck. Too bad it won’t have the same effect on the law itself.


2 posted on 05/12/2015 8:57:59 AM PDT by dware (In 2016, the GOP has 2 choices: CRUZ OR LOSE!)
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To: Incorrigible

If the Supremes vote in accordance with the law and the Constitution, this adds Hawaii to the long list of states that will lose FedGov subsidies. Obamacare must die, and this will give us the chance to make it happen. All we need is for Chief Justice Roberts to do his job and then for the GOP elite to do their job. What could go wrong?


3 posted on 05/12/2015 9:02:47 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: Incorrigible
Is the MSM now going to accuse Hawaii Democrats from taking away subsidies from residents who are now forced onto the federal exchange?

Or will Obama use his "home" state to pressure SCOTUS to rule for federal exchange subsidies despite the plain language and legislative history of the law?

-PJ

4 posted on 05/12/2015 9:03:11 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: Incorrigible

This is by design.

Single payer.


5 posted on 05/12/2015 9:04:10 AM PDT by sauropod (I am His and He is mine.)
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To: Incorrigible

Hawaii. Deep Blue Marxist-supporting state. Doesn’t matter that Democrat policy fails them. They will still vote Marxist every time, and blame all Marxist failures on policies not being Marxist enough.


6 posted on 05/12/2015 9:05:48 AM PDT by BlueStateRightist (Government is best which governs least.)
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To: sauropod

Bingo.


7 posted on 05/12/2015 9:07:42 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
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To: Incorrigible
The Hawaii Health Connector will shut down operations on Sept. 30, InsuranceNewsNet reported. The exchange site will cease new enrollment this week, discontinue its outreach programs at the end of May and transfer its technology assets to the state by Sept. 30, the article said. The exchange's 37,000 enrollees can re-enroll on the federal Healthcare.gov exchange for the 2016 plan year....A report issued earlier this year found that the exchange would not be financially sustainable until 2022, FierceHealthPayer previously reported. Because the Affordable Care Act required state exchanges to be financially sustainable by 2015, the federal government deemed Hawaii's exchange non-compliant, INN said.

Oops.

8 posted on 05/12/2015 9:08:35 AM PDT by Alex Murphy ("the defacto Leader of the FR Calvinist Protestant Brigades")
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To: Incorrigible

States were really stupid to set up exchanges.


9 posted on 05/12/2015 9:08:58 AM PDT by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
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To: Pollster1

The Republicans will, without any doubt, pass a resolution to allow the subsidies. That will be after Obama makes an executive decree allowing them. Of course, that’s only if SCOTUS rules according to the constitution, which is doubtful.


10 posted on 05/12/2015 9:11:14 AM PDT by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
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To: demshateGod
And anyway, Karl Rove says resistance is futile!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3287882/posts

11 posted on 05/12/2015 9:22:17 AM PDT by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" (Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius (170 BC - 86 BC))
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To: Incorrigible

Ho’omaika’i ‘ana Gruber.


12 posted on 05/12/2015 9:22:44 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: Incorrigible

Makes sense since 67% there are on the dole, retired and just not working.
The third working business and tourism support it all and adding a health care costs to their great society lottery has to close it down, makes total sense.


13 posted on 05/12/2015 9:25:07 AM PDT by A CA Guy ( God Bless America, God Bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

Hawaii already had a very low number of uninsured. They passed a law in 1974 requiring employers to provide coverage. Divide the huge costs of building the exchange into the relatively small number of uninsured and the cost per policy sold was approaching $20K. Literally a solution in search of a problem.


14 posted on 05/12/2015 9:28:09 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Incorrigible

The plan is succeeding.


15 posted on 05/12/2015 9:31:44 AM PDT by Ray76 (Obama says, "Unlike my mum, Ruth has all the documents needed to prove who Mark's father was.")
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To: Incorrigible

Bump


16 posted on 05/12/2015 9:52:30 AM PDT by lowbridge
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To: Incorrigible

I thought Oregon’s plan was touted as one of the successes?


17 posted on 05/12/2015 10:01:50 AM PDT by Lorianne (fed pork, bailouts, gone taxmoney)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

Hawaii’s 1974 law required employers to pay for part of the health insurance of employees who worked over 20 hours per week (no matter the number of employees). As a result, there were many people with 2 or more >20/hours per week jobs ... and no employer paid health insurance.

The people who came up with O-care only had to study Hawaii’s plan to see what would happen.

I’m not sure how they meshed Hawaii’s plan with the O-care plan which requires employers to provide health insurance to people who work over 30 hours per week (but only applies to 50 or more employees). Seems like that would be a mess to sort out.


18 posted on 05/12/2015 10:07:09 AM PDT by Lorianne (fed pork, bailouts, gone taxmoney)
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To: Pollster1

“All we need is for Chief Justice Roberts to do his job...”

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...stop it please, you’re killin’ me! Hahahahahahaha, you forgot, we also need for Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden to join forces and stand up for good old common sense hahahaha, hehehehe and a Hank Hill chuckle.


19 posted on 05/12/2015 10:09:38 AM PDT by RipSawyer (Racism is racism, regardless of the race of the racist.)
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To: sauropod
"This is by design. Single payer."

This is the correct answer. The Supreme Court isn't going to take sides and the rest of the state exchanges will more than likely fail in the next five years. Once that occurs there will be a massive cry about how the uninsured can't be left out, how it was unfair that the exchanges closed, and so on and so on. The GOP will help the Libs construct some sort of funding and/or bills to create a single payer system.

20 posted on 05/12/2015 10:18:07 AM PDT by aegiscg47
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