Colorado Exchange Officials Debate Financial Plan

Connect for Health Colorado officials are scrambling to come up with a financial plan that does not raise fees. Meanwhile, a top executive with the company that Maryland hired to build its dysfunctional exchange is fired, and a new chairman takes over the Washington state board that oversees that state's exchange. 

The Denver Post:  Colorado Health Care Exchange Faces Financial Challenges
Connect for Health Colorado officials have touted the state's insurance exchange as frugal and having relatively low fees. But after spending at least $100 million in federal funding, the exchange is scrambling to figure out how to sustain itself beyond this year. The exchange may find itself in a difficult position as it seeks solutions in coming months because some members of its own board, along with a vocal group of legislators, oppose fee increases. Its financial outlook may have worsened Friday when the state extended through 2015 health plans that aren't compliant with the Affordable Care Act, which is likely to lower enrollments through the exchange (Kane, 5/5).

The Baltimore Sun:  Health Exchange Contractor’s Top Executive Terminated
A top executive with the company Maryland hired to build its health exchange website — and later dumped — has been terminated on the heels of heavy financial losses. Paul von Ebers, president and CEO at Noridian Mutual Insurance Co., was let go after a unanimous board vote Monday. Noridian Healthcare Solutions is an affiliate of the North Dakota company and was responsible for more than $50 million of the company's $80 million in losses last year, said Andrea Dinneen, a company spokeswoman (Cohn, 5/5).

The Associated Press:  North Dakota Blue Cross Fires Top Exec For Md. Exchange Losses
The company that does business as Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota fired president and chief executive officer Paul von Ebers on Monday, days after the state's dominant insurer reported nearly $80 million in financial losses in 2013. The bulk of the company's financial woes stem from a subsidiary — Noridian Healthcare Solutions — that lost $51 million developing a health exchange in Maryland, as part of President Barack Obama's new federal health care law, Blues spokeswoman Andrea Dinneen said (5/5).

The Seattle Times:  Ron Sims To Lead Board Overseeing State’s Health Insurance Exchange
Ron Sims is taking the helm of Washington’s Health Benefit Exchange Board, which oversees the state’s health insurance exchange. Sims was appointed chair of the board by Gov. Jay Inslee, according to an announcement made today by the exchange. The exchange, called the Washington Healthplanfinder, was created under the Affordable Care Act and is the marketplace where Washington residents can enroll in Medicaid and purchase insurance coverage, including insurance plans subsidized by the government (Stiffler, 5/5).