The Obama administration announced yesterday that a dozen more states have crossed the first big threshold in setting up health insurance exchanges — including seven of the states that are suing the administration to overturn the health-care law passed last year. Under the 2010 law, the state-run exchanges will be launched in 2014, opening a marketplace where private insurers compete to offer health plans to the uninsured and to small businesses. If a state hasn’t established a framework for the exchanges by 2013, the federal government will step in and run it. Some 26 states have challenged the law on constitutional grounds, and the Supreme Court is expected to decide the matter by the end of June. In the meantime, all but one state — Alaska — have taken federal money to plan their exchanges. Yesterday, the administration said 12 states had reached the next stage

and have qualified for additional money. Seven of the states — Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and Nebraska — are part of the Supreme Court challenge. The others that reached the threshold are Delaware, Hawaii, New Mexico, Tennessee and Vermont. Another 16 states reached this stage earlier in the year, including more who are participating in the challenge. Republican governors have faced tough choices over how far they want to cooperate with a law they oppose. The administration also said yesterday that states are eligible for grants even if they don’t expect to have their exchanges ready by 2014. That could be important next year if the Supreme Court upholds the exchanges, and if the 2012 elections favor Democrats for both the White House and state executive mansions. Image: iStockphoto

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More States Move Closer to Health Insurance Exchanges