What Could Possibly Threaten Ga.’s Health Exchange Debut?
Health insurance claim form with glasses
As part of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, Georgia’s health insurance exchange goes “live” Tuesday. That’s the web portal where consumers will compare, purchase, and possibly qualify for a premium subsidy. An audio version of this story, as heard on Thursday's All Things Considered.
With the feds running Georgia’s exchange, there’s concern a government shut-down could cause problems.
But most agree that concern is largely unfounded. Why?
Think of all federal money as running down two separate pipes.
Stream “A” flows through the annual appropriations pipe.
Stream “B” trickles through the mandatory spending pipe.
Shut down the government and you really just close off the appropriations pipe. Stream B will continue flowing.
“Many of the core parts of the healthcare law are funded through mandatory appropriations and wouldn’t be affected,” says Gary Cohen, director of the federal Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
A potential bigger challenge in Georgia could involve so-called ‘navigators.’ Those are folks trained to walk consumers through the exchange process.
As of Thursday afternoon, the state insurance commissioner's office said Georgia had exactly three navigators certified.
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