Tavenner Says Small Business Exchange Will Be Functional by the End of November

Last week, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner told lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee that the Small Business Health Options Program exchange would be functional "at the end of November." The Obama administration in late September said that online enrollment in federally run exchanges for employers with 50 or fewer workers would be delayed by one month from Oct. 1 because of technical problems. During a recent press briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney reiterated that the start date for SHOP would be Nov. 1.

• "Another Delay for Small-Business Health Exchanges? Depends on Whom You Ask." (Mandelbaum, "You're the Boss," New York Times, 10/31).