Wyoming lacks a system for consumers to shop for insurance with the lights on. But that could change in 2014, when the state's first insurance exchange is expected to begin operating.
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Despite the possible benefits, the success of a Wyoming exchange is hardly certain. Skeptics wonder whether the marketplace could succeed in a rural state with a small population. Designers must also convince a right-leaning Legislature to adopt a program that's most associated with President Barack Obama and federal health reform.
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She[Rea] believes an exchange has the potential to improve the system here. But she's pessimistic lawmakers will establish a program that benefits their constituents.
"All someone in the Legislature has to say is, 'It's going to cost too much,'" she said. "Rather than looking at how citizens can have access to good, affordable health care."
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When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, it made exchanges a key part of health reform. The law requires Wyoming to open an exchange by the start of 2014. States that don't meet the timeline risk a federal takeover.
Federal health reform remains controversial in Wyoming. But even critics of the reform law see potential in exchanges, said Anne Ladd, chief executive officer of the Wyoming Business Coalition on Health.
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An exchange would also reduce the number of uninsured people in Wyoming. Between 38,000 and 41,000 people are expected to enroll in the marketplace by 2016, according to one estimate from a state consultant. More than 60 percent will be people who currently go without coverage.
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/rate-of-exchange-for-health-care-options-increases-as-wyoming/article_f8a2de54-8ace-542e-aad2-26b138fb78bf.html
Hat tip: Casper Star-Tribune
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