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Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the controversial healthcare overhaul law, it's up to the states to implement it. WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports.
So, the Supreme Court has ruled -- and come 2014, everybody will have to get healthcare coverage or pay a tax.
But that's just the beginning. What kind of coverage will insurers provide? How extensive will it be? How much will it cost? And who will get a government subsidy to help pay for it?
Those are some of the questions that Kevin Lembo has. He's the state's former healthcare advocate. And he's now the state's comptroller.
"All of those questions, though they may sound like they're in the weeds, will have real life implications for people who will come to the exchange -- to this marketplace -- in an effort to find coverage for themselves and their families."
The exchange he's referring to is the online marketplace Connecticut will create for people who want to buy health insurance. It's where they will go to shop and compare. And answering all of those questions in an effective way could mean the difference between creating an exchange that works and one that doesn't.
Here's what one that works looks like: people without insurance find insurance plans that meet their needs and their budgets. Here's what one that doesn't work looks like: the plans are too expensive, people choose to pay a federal tax instead of a getting insurance, and one goal of the Affordable Care Act -- insuring more people -- could fail.
Then there's this: Once you get coverage, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get access to care. Michael Krinsky is the president of the Connecticut State Medical Society. He says that newly-covered people could face bottlenecks in a system that is short on primary care doctors and specialists accepting new patients.
"It's like having a ticket to the show but not being able to get a seat in the theater."
But Kevin Counihan is more optimistic. He's the incoming CEO of the state organization that will run the exchange.
"The law has been maintained, the establishment exchanges has been maintained, and from our perspective it's full-speed ahead."
By law, the exchange must be up and running in January 2014.
For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.
