Massachusetts Affordable Insurance Exchange Grants Awards List
Massachusetts has received four grant awards to build its Affordable Insurance Exchange. This includes a Planning Grant, an Early Innovator Grant, and two Level One Establishment Grants.
Summaries of Massachusetts’ applications for each grant are provided below:
Establishment Grant Level One Application Summary
Administrator: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority
Award Amount: $11,644,938; $41,679,505
Award Date: February 22, 2012; September 27, 2012
Application Due Date: December 30, 2011; August 15, 2012
Level of Funding: Level One
Summary: Massachusetts will use Level One funding to conduct analysis on coverage transitions and the operational interface between the Exchange and the Massachusetts Medicaid Program, which has been a major operational and strategic partner for the Health Connector since its inception. This will include a focus on the products and services that will best meet the needs of the individual and small group populations served in 2014. The proposed projects are intended to: enhance the consumer experience, (promote/provide) products and services for individuals and small businesses shopping for health insurance through an Exchange; help develop a plan for robust reinsurance, risk adjustment and risk corridor programs that will stabilize the market; and augment the current operational model for the relaunch of “Health Connector 2.0” in 2014.
Massachusetts is receiving a second Level One award to assist the Health Connector in its efforts to successfully transition to a State-based Exchange consistent with the Affordable Care Act, while still maintaining a commitment to its existing members served under today’s Exchange model. Funding from this award will support the development of a robust risk-adjustment program that will ensure stability in their merged market. A significant portion of this request will fund a multi-agency project overseen by the Health Connector, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the University of Massachusetts Medical School to build a single, integrated real-time eligibility system to determine eligibility for state and federally supported health insurance coverage.
Early Innovator Grant
Grantee: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Award Amount: $35,591,333
This is a multi-state consortia proposal led by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and will benefit individuals and small businesses in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These consumers will be able to shop for, select, and purchase affordable and high-quality health plans consistent with national reform goals for 2014. The proposed project approach will be to create and build a flexible Exchange information technology framework in Massachusetts and share those products with other New England states. The proposal hopes to learn from the Massachusetts Exchange implementation and gain efficiencies so it can accelerate Exchange development for participating New England states.
Award Supplement: $8,895,029 (March 21, 2012)
Summary: Massachusetts will use the Early Innovator grant supplement to accelerate changes in its current Exchange IT infrastructure in order to assure full integration between the Health Insurance Exchange and Medicaid systems. The supplement will also fund the Exchange IT components for Massachusetts that can be leveraged by New England and other States.
State Planning Grant
Awarded September 30, 2010
Administrator: Division of Insurance
Amount Awarded: $1,000,000
- Identify current Health Connector programs, policies, and practices in need of modification given new national requirements for Exchanges.
- Identify a strategic and operational plan and implementation timeline.
- Conduct research to anticipate changes in sources of insurance coverage before and after 2014, and the size and characteristics of the population served by the State Exchange.
- Engage stakeholders in the discussion of Exchange-related issues
- Collaborate with MassHealth to identify and recommend changes to the existing information technology and operational infrastructure needed to comply with new requirements for Exchange eligibility determinations in 2014.
- Review current cash flow structure and identify changes that may be necessary under national reform.
- Review current products offered through the Connector and how they align with specifications for plan design under national reform.
- Examine statutory and regulatory actions to identify potential needed changes, such as minimum essential coverage requirements, definitions of affordability and exemptions from the individual mandate.