Sarah Kliff writes about the challenges of creating a health insurance exchange that is easy to use and that doesn’t overwhelm consumers with information. I’m not closely involved in the design of Minnesota’s exchange, but I’ve sat in enough design sessions to understand that this will be an iterative process. No state exchange (or the federal exchange, for that matter) will be perfect on day one. It will take time for officials to get the kinks out and optimize how information is presented. Unflattering news reports about how State X bungled its exchange implementation are a near-certainty in the coming months, but they shouldn’t be interpreted as the Fall of Obamacare. This is complicated stuff and complicated stuff takes time to get right.
The most important function of these exchanges is to ensure that people can get timely access to affordable health insurance. As long as that happens, states should have the breathing room they need to make necessary improvements.
