In a conversation for California Healthline, Jon Kingsdale — independent consultant and former executive director of Massachusetts’ Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority — recommended that California use the next three years to carefully prepare for the launch of its health insurance exchange so the state can begin covering residents by a 2014 deadline set under the federal health reform law.
Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed legislation (AB 1602 and SB 900) making California the first state to establish a health benefit exchange under the reform law.
Kingsdale said California could learn from Massachusetts’ experience by launching a communications campaign to ensure that residents understand their coverage options and how the exchange operates (California Healthline, 10/4).
The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.Some elements may be removed from this article due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about available photos or other content, please contact khnweb@kff.org.