Milestone Reached in Creating State Marketplace for Health Insur - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

Sacramento, Calif. - Friday marks the deadline that all states in the union must opt in or out for creating a federal-state marketplace for health insurance in accord with the Affordable Care Act. Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA said today "regardless of who operates and maintains these marketplaces, every state will have such a marketplace, and every resident of every state will have access to one."

The State of California has said it will have such a marketplace for health insurance. The state had recently unfunded it's Healthy Families program due to budget considerations. Most likely in anticipation of the federal-state marketplace created as part of the ACA. The Health Insurance Marketplace will begin in 2014 with open enrollment in October 2013.

Pollack went on to say "Each marketplace will offer insurance shoppers a variety of tools, such as a consumer-friendly website, a toll-free hotline for assistance, and a network for one-on-one assistance—-all intended to help the residents of that state find and purchase the quality, affordable health insurance policy that best suits their personal or family needs."

The Affordable Care Act offers premium tax credits on a sliding scale to families with incomes as high as $94,200 for a family of four. Pollock says, "The Act also requires that health care policies be presented in clear, standardized format and that they meet consumer protection and quality standards. Additionally, the Act raises the eligibility for Medicaid, and many families will be checking to see if they qualify for this program via the marketplace. In the health insurance marketplaces these key provisions of the law will come together for the benefit of millions of Americans."