Health Insurance Exchanges Rebranded as 'Marketplaces'

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rebranded health insurance exchanges, one of the cornerstones of healthcare reform, as “marketplaces.”

Cynics and conservative activists see the renaming as a public relations ploy to deflect negative publicity around health insurance exchanges. Liberal activists claim that there hasn’t been much publicity, good or bad, around exchanges and that “marketplaces” is a better name. As reported last month, most governors across the nation eschewed setting up state-run health insurance exchanges and instead decided to let the federal government set them up as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in their state. Only 18 states and the District of Columbia will run their own health insurance exchanges.

Under the individual mandate provision of ACA, those without health insurance in the United States will be required to seek out coverage. Those who chose or cannot get insurance from employers or from government assistance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will be able to buy policies through exchanges.

The Hill, a blog covering national politics, has more on the story and  reaction to it by conservative and liberal activists.