Health Insurance Exchange
The federal health reform law requires every state to have an Insurance Exchange. An Insurance Exchange is an organized marketplace where individuals can search for and purchase health insurance for themselves and their family members. While the law requires each state to have an Insurance Exchange, states have the option of running their own Exchange or handing that authority over to the federal government.
Tennessee has created an Insurance Exchange Planning Initiative to look over the guidelines and requirements released by the federal government related to Exchanges. The Exchange Planning Initiative has also been gathering Tennessee stakeholder feedback and has traveled across the state to meet with small businesses, agents and brokers, health care providers, insurers, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders to discuss the state's options.
Although there are many on-going factors that could change all or portions of the national health reform law, we feel it is important to continue to review Tennessee's Exchange options, listen to input from stakeholders and the public, and provide framework for a viable alternative to a federally-run Exchange. This is critical because the federal national health reform law requires states be ready to implement their Exchange by January 1, 2013. Should no changes be made to the federal law, and should Tennessee decide it would rather run its own Exchange instead of handing that authority over to the federal government, the state must be ready by the January 1, 2013 deadline.
Comments and questions regarding the insurance exchange should be sent to insurance.exchange@tn.gov. This email address may also be used to join an email distribution list that will send out the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee insurance exchange planning process.
A presentation about Tennessee and the Insurance Exchange can be viewed here. Also, information on the background of Exchanges and additional information about Exchanges can be found here. For additional information on specific topic areas, please click here.
Comments on Proposed Federal Rules can be found here.
White Paper on Stakeholder Input
On October 21, 2011, the state released a summary of the feedback that it had received from its discussions with various stakeholder groups. This "white paper" discusses stakeholder insights about each of the major policy issues regarding the individual and small group insurance exchanges -- and the options available to Tennessee. We are asking stakeholders to review the white paper to ensure that we have heard them correctly -- and to reconfirm your feedback now after the recent release of several waves of proposed federal rules. Read the executive summary of the key issues, or read the full document.
We invite comments from you in a variety of ways. You may provide feedback by email (send to insurance.exchange@tn.gov), by phone (call Brian Haile on 615-253-8555), in person (request a meeting via email or by phone), or in writing (send to 312 Rosa Parks Ave, 26th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243).
For follow-up from listening sessions click here.
Technical Advisory Groups
The state has convened two technical advisory groups (TAGs) to provide expertise on specific
analytical questions: (1) an actuarial TAG and (2) a broker/agent TAG. The professional experience of the TAG members help the state make the connection between law and policy and the way things happen in the real world. The TAGs also serve as a sounding board to rapidly gather feedback on policy proposals and questions.
Information from TAG meetings can be found here.
Provider and Advocate Roundtables
The Insurance Exchange Planning Initiative regularly meets with providers and advocates to answer their questions about Exchanges and request their input and feedback.
Materials from these Provider and Advocate Roundtable meetings can be viewed here.
Public Documents
The documents that are produced as Tennessee analyses its options for an Insurance Exchange are available to the public on this website. Click to see Press Releases, Briefing and Discussion Papers, Comments on Proposed Federal Rules and Presentations.
Tennessee was awarded a federal grant to analyze insurance exchange policy options. The grant does not require any action on Tennessee's part to implement an exchange. Materials related to the federal grant are available here.
Tennessee has so far convened two Technical Assistance Groups (TAGs), with plans for more TAGs in the future. We have posted all memos related to the meetings of the Agent/Broker TAG and the Actuary/Underwriter TAG. We have also convened Provider/Advocate Roundtable Meetings.
In addition, we have gathered resources from other states and experts in the field, which are available here.
