On March 7, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that HHS has conditionally approved Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, and West Virginia to operate state partnership marketplaces or exchanges that will be ready for open enrollment in October 2013.  Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have now been conditionally approved to partially or fully run their exchange or marketplace. HHS also indicated that several other states have suggested their own approaches toward plan management. Within the categories of a state-based exchange, a federal-state partnership, and a federally facilitated exchange, there are different functions that states may choose to assume or leave to the federal government. For example, if a state operates a state-based exchange, the state may have the federal government operate the premium tax credits.  In a state partnership, a state may operate activities for plan management and/or consumer assistance, while the state may elect to have the federal government perform the Medicaid and CHIP eligibility determination.

Link: News Release