Under the Affordable Care Act, an individual state can choose to design its own health care Exchange or it can let the federal government take complete responsibility for the program.
I am really concerned about whether we can put this on the line and have it ready for our use by the October deadline - Lt. Gov. Phil Scott
Vermont is one of 16 states that decided to create its own Exchange, and it’s known as Vermont Health Connect. It’s the only state in the country that requires all individuals, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees, to go through the Exchange in order to purchase insurance coverage after January 1.
Vermont Health Connect is scheduled to go on line at the beginning of October, and as that date approaches, Lt. Governor Phil Scott thinks the state made the wrong decision to design its own Exchange.
“We’ve ordered something that’s custom made and we’re not sure how it’s going to function here,” said Scott. “So it’s taken a little bit more time and I’m really concerned about whether we can put this on the line and have it ready for our use by the October deadline.”
The state is planning a massive public education campaign about the Exchange but Scott isn’t convinced that this effort will be successful.
“More and more Vermonters that I’ve talked to are not engaged in the issue at all and don’t know what it’s going to mean to them personally don’t know what its going to mean to them as a company that they might own,” said Scott. “I just think we have our heads in the sand a bit on the Exchange alone.”
Mark Larson is the Commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access. He says the Exchange will be ready.
“We’re on track to offer Vermonters health coverage in an accessible straightforward way starting October 1st.”
Robin Lunge is the director of Health Care Reform in the Shumlin Administration. She says it was important for Vermont to create its own Exchange.
“Should we go with the federal model ? Might it be easier ? Sure," said Lunge. "Would it work as well for Vermonters ? Absolutely not.”
And Lunge says the Vermont Exchange is being designed to help move the state towards a single payer system in 2017.
“We need to modernize our information technology," said Lunge. "Our information technology system is over 30 years old and creating an enrollment portal through Vermont Health Connect will give us a piece of technology that we can reuse when we move to the universal system.”
The state has received over $170 million from the federal government to set up Vermont Health Connect. The money has been used to hire dozens of employees, to finance a variety of outreach programs, and to upgrade the state’s computer system.
