12 states pledge support for exchanges

Tools

At least 12 states--California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington--already have pledged their support of creating a health insurance exchange, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services said Wednesday in a blog post. The agency has received letters from 12 governors, detailing their plans to move forward with state-based insurance exchanges, reported The Hill's Healthwatch.

"As President Obama said after the Supreme Court ruling, it is time to move forward," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote. "Since the healthcare reform law was passed two years ago, we have worked closely with states to begin building these exchanges ... and we will continue to work side-by-side with the states to provide the healthcare quality and security that our citizens need and deserve." Article