The Hawaii Health Connector - The First Domino to Fall?

[whell]

http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle...-services.html

From the article:

May 09--The Hawaii Health Connector has prepared a contingency plan to shut down operations by Sept. 30 after lawmakers failed to pass legislation to keep the state's troubled Obamacare insurance exchange afloat.

The Connector is in financial dire straits due to lack of enrollment.

Under the contingency plan, Connector functions would be transferred to the state so that the roughly 37,000 enrolled on the exchange would not lose their coverage. However, residents would have to re-enroll in healthcare.gov to ensure coverage next year.

To sustain its operations, the Connector needs to enroll 70,000. The program is funded by a 2 percent fee on each policy, which is set to increase to 3.5 percent July 1.

Hawaii, of all the state-run exchanges, was in the worst financial dire straits. But it's not the only one. According to WaPo, half of the states that opted to run their own exchanges are having financial challenges:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...afa_story.html

Nearly half of the 17 insurance marketplaces set up by the states and the District under President Obama’s health law are struggling financially, presenting state officials with an unexpected and serious challenge five years after the passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act.

Many of the online exchanges are wrestling with surging costs, especially for balky technology and expensive customer call centers — and tepid enrollment numbers.

What solutions are the states exploring?

Some are weighing turning over part or all of their troubled marketplaces to the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, which now works smoothly.

Gee. I wonder if those states will face the ire of the Dems who accused Repub governors for playing politics with Obamacare for refusing to operate a state - run exchange?