Concerns About Bill to Replace HealthCare.Gov with a Texas-Run Marketplace
Multiple bills have been filed at the Texas Legislature to replace HealthCare.Gov with a new Health Insurance Marketplace created and run by the state of Texas.
Today, a number of organizations are at the Legislature to testify against one of those bills, HB 700. You can read more here about the concerns regarding HB 700:
Summarizing concerns about the bill, Stacey Pogue, Senior Policy Analyst at Every Texan, wrote in her testimony:
“The Texas Marketplace at HealthCare.Gov is booming. It has more insurers competing to sell coverage than in any other state. It has record enrollment, covering 2.4 million Texans with quality, affordable insurance. It has achieved the highest rate of enrollment growth among states for three years running. Coverage today is both comprehensive and affordable; 59% of Texans who signed up for 2023 coverage pay $10 or less per month.
“Transitioning to a state Marketplaces involves financial and operational risks. Some states that have implemented a state Marketplace have faced major technology failures, a poor consumer experience, unplanned costs to the state, and coverage losses. Building and operating a state Marketplace remains an enormous undertaking, even with improvements touted by vendors in their services and technology over the years, and requires an ongoing commitment to running a public coverage program well.”
Additional background information is available in this recent white paper from Every Texan.