States get extra month for health exchange blueprints

U.S. states were given one additional month to Dec. 14 to submit their plans for new health insurance marketplaces to the federal government, the Obama administration said.

States still have to tell the government by Nov. 16 if they plan to build their own exchanges, according to a letter to governors that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent today. States that want to partner with the federal government on an exchange will have until Feb. 15 to outline which duties they’ll handle.

The exchanges must begin enrolling people into insurance plans on Oct. 1, for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2014.

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