Question

A centerpiece to the Affordable Care Act is the health insurance exchange provision. Define what a health insurance exchange is and how it is supposed to function.

Answer 1

The health insurance exchange is a comparison shopping marketplace under which the private companies which are selling health insurance will list their concerned plans with the exchange, a desired health insurance customer may go to the exchange and after making appropriate comparison may decide to make a purchase. There exist private and public health insurance exchanges. The private health insurance exchange is usually designed for employers to let them choose the health insurance plans for their employees and is not accessible by employees, however under the new Obamacare act, the private health insurance companies are required to list their plans to the state health insurance exchange where people can compare and can make a wise decision as to what health insurance plan is suitable for them and which one to purchase. All US citizens and legal residents are entitled to make a purchase in the exchange of the state in which they live. The ultimate aim of this exchange is to provide people a marketplace where they can compare and buy the best health insurance plan for themselves and is not obliged to continue with the health insurance plan which provided to them by their employers already.