This is good news for for those in Nevada who can’t afford health insurance.  The Health Insurance Exchange is a cornerstone for making health insurance available to Nevadans and helping to offset the rather poor and expensive coverage that is currently available.  Now that the funding has been approved we should see the benefits of the Insurance Exchange program become available in Nevada.

A state board approved a $72 million contract Tuesday to implement a health insurance exchange in Nevada under the federal Affordable Care Act, but Gov. Brian Sandoval said the program will need to become self-sustaining if it is to continue.

The contract approved by the Board of Examiners is with Xerox State Healthcare to set up the computer system and operations needed to begin enrolling people by October 2013. Startup costs are being funded through federal grants. So far, Nevada has received $25 million and state officials are awaiting approval, expected in the next few days, on another $50 million.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller, the other two members of board, joined Sandoval in approving the contract.

The contract would run through 2016, but programs are supposed to be self-funded after 2014 and the state would assume all operational costs on Jan. 1, 2015.

Jon Hager, executive director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, estimated costs for the last two years of the contract at $36.8 million.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2012/08/16/259687.htm