On February 16, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the states that will receive a total of $241 million to design and implement the IT infrastructure used to operate health insurance exchanges. The seven states selected by HHS are known as “early innovator” states because the infrastructure that they establish may be adopted by other states to set up their own exchanges. This announcement demonstrates HHS’s commitment to funding the development of user-friendly systems that will enable consumers to easily navigate the exchanges.
To read more about the IT grants and see the list of states scheduled to receive grant funding, please go to http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/exchanges02162011a.html.