The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced Wednesday the awarding of $241 million in "Early Innovator" grants to help seven states design and implement the IT infrastructure needed to launch state health insurance exchanges.
States receiving grants are Kansas, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wisconsin and a consortium of New England states. The grants range from $6 million to $54 million depending on the project and present a variety of potential solutions to providing the IT infrastructure necessary to run a state health insurance exchange.
"Early Innovator states will play a critical role in developing a consumer-friendly marketplace where insurers must compete to deliver the best deal," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "These grants ensure that consumers in every state will be able to easily navigate their way through health insurance options."
[See also: HHS awards states $49M for insurance exchange planning; Microsoft launches IT for state insurance exchanges.]
Most states will use the funds to build out existing frameworks already in place in each state, including those used for the administration of state Medicaid programs. Most aim to integrate with health departments and agencies to lower administrative costs while also providing consumers with easy access to health insurance information.
All Early Innovator states have committed to developing technology that is reusable and transferable. Technology sharing should help other states establish their exchanges quickly using the models and building blocks created by the Early Innovator states. At the same time, it allows states to have the flexibility to develop an exchange that best meets the needs of their unique health insurance market without having to start from scratch.
"Everyone wins," said Don Berwick, CMS administrator. "This grant program means that states don't have to waste money reinventing the wheel, and consumers get the best of the best."
The grant recipients and amounts awarded are:
• Kansas: Kansas Insurance Department, $31,537,465
• Maryland: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, $6,227,454
• Multi-State Consortia: University of Massachusetts Medical School, $35,591,333
• New York: New York Department of Health, $27,431,432
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma Health Care Authority, $54,582,269
• Oregon: Oregon Health Authority, $48,096,307
• Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Health Services, $37,757,266
For more information on the specific projects of each grantee, click here.