On Monday, Massachusetts unveiled a plan to fix problems with its health insurance website that have slowed the state's transition to the federal Affordable Care Act. The plan calls for a "dual-track" approach which includes purchasing new software while also connecting with the federal health care website.
Sarah Iselin, a special assistant hired by Gov. Deval Patrick to oversee the website fix, says the strategy is aimed at creating a functional health exchange by the start of the next open enrollment period in the fall. Speaking in March, Iselin says a fully integrated system by 2015 has been a primary goal as she nears the end of her four month stint.
“An end-to-end IT system to support our exchange,” said Iselin.
The state plans to purchase hCentive, an off-the-shelf application that has powered exchanges in Colorado and Kentucky. No cost was immediately given.
If the state site is not ready by fall, residents will be temporarily directed to the federal site, healthcare.gov. The plan will be fully unveiled Thursday.
