(Reuters) – A total of 18 U.S. states are planning to start their own health insurance marketplaces, which will be available to consumers and businesses in 2014, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a blog posting on Monday.
The deadline for states to inform the federal government if they would operate healthcare exchanges under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law was Dec. 14. The number of states participating was in line with expectations and leaves the government to create online marketplaces for the rest of the country.
The exchanges are one of the key aspects of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was enacted in 2010. They will create online marketplaces where individuals can buy health insurance from companies like UnitedHealth Group, Wellpoint Inc, Aetna Inc andCigna Corp.
"The marketplace will provide consumers and small businesses one-stop shopping for health insurance with better information about plan benefits, quality and cost – simplifying the process for buying health insurance," Sebelius said in her post.
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