U.S. to send more insurance exchange money to states

[ProSense]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The federal government made more grants available to U.S. states on Thursday for establishing open marketplaces for health insurance, with no limits on how much funding the states can seek.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters on a conference call that her department will be vigilant about checking the budgets that states submit with their applications and about helping them keep their expectations realistic about how much they will receive.

But she said there was no "precise amount" of money available.

Already, 48 states and the District of Columbia have received planning grants equal to $1 million each for the health insurance exchanges, a key part of the healthcare plan President Barack Obama signed into law last March.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70J60V20110120