HB401 Summary

• Establishes the Alabama Health Insurance Exchange within the Department of Public Health as an independent instrumentality and not-for-profit corporation.

• Creates an 11-member board of directors including state officials, legislative committee chairs, insurance industry representatives, an insurance producer, and a consumer representative to govern the exchange.

• Requires the exchange to make qualified health plans available to qualified individuals and employers, facilitate enrollment through a standardized website, and establish both individual and small employer insurance exchanges.

• Exchange must be self-sustaining by January 1, 2015, and may charge fees to health carriers to fund operations; prohibited from regulating insurers or acting as an appeals entity for disputes.

• Act becomes void if the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or provisions requiring the exchange are repealed by Congress or declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.