Belshe Encourages Stakeholder Participation in Health Benefit Exchange

California Health Benefit Exchange Board member Kim Belshe spoke to members of the Having Our Say (HOS) coalition last week in Sacramento about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the current state of the Health Benefit Exchange (www.hbex.ca.gov/). The former Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency answered questions and urged participation from HOS, a statewide coalition of over 50 organizations that works to ensure that health care reform solutions address the needs of communities of color, as the Exchange takes shape.

“We have a big job to do around communication and outreach,” Belshe said. “We need to learn more about the socio-demographic makeup of those applying for Medi-Cal and federal subsidies in the Exchange so that [our marketing] can reflect the cultural and linguistic makeup of the participants.”

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Advocacy recently released a brief, Who Can Participate in the California Health Benefit Exchange?, (http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/files/healthexchangepb.pdf) which shows the potential benefit of the Exchange for California’s communities of color. Of those uninsured for at least a full year who would be eligible in the Exchange, 66 percent are people of color, with 54 having a primary language other than English.

Belshe talked about the Board’s plans for a stakeholder process that will allow groups like Having Our Say to be involved in the important policy decisions that the Board will be making. Belshe also took time to discuss the goals of the Exchange, and answered several questions about how the Exchange plans to promote health equity through its health plan offerings.

“The goal is not coverage for the sake of coverage,” Belshe said. “Coverage means access and that means improvement in the health of people in this state. We want to make sure choices are the most affordable, high-value programs. We want plans to compete on the basis of quality in addition to price.”

The next Board meeting (also available via webcast) will be tomorrow, June 15^th [http://www.healthexchange.ca.gov/Documents/CA%20HBEx%206-15%20Meeting%20Agenda%20updated.pdf] in Sacramento, and will include participation from key federal officials including Joel Ario, the Director of the Office of Insurance Exchanges, and Cindy Mann, the Director of the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification.