Our feature topic was the rapid deployment in many states (and by the Federal government) of Health Insurance Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. The daunting task of establishing the exchanges has created many interesting issues relating to benefits requirements, risk pool definitions, operational challenges, broker and coordination problems, and serious questions as to whether the 2014 implementation deadline can be met. In addition, there are challenges in the collection and analysis of data flowing into and out of the exchanges, and technological issues to be addressed in making them function as intended.
Our primary speaker on this topic was Alison Burkowske, who is a Senior Manager in Accenture's Health & Public Service practice. Alison plays a key role in Accenture's Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) community of practice, serving as a Health Insurance Subject Matter Expert supporting teams across several states. Alison also leads an Independent Verification and Validation team working with the District of Columbia government as they implement a state-based HIX to meet requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Nelson Mullins attorneys David Main and Kim Le also gave their perspective on some of the legal and regulatory issues involved, especially in the District of Columbia’s Health Benefits Exchange. Also participating in the presentation was Sarah Cormery, lead technology official of the District of Columbia Health Benefits Exchange.