Gov. Sean Parnell angered some lawmakers this year when he refused federal funds for an exchange, a marketplace for coverage options intended, in part, to spur competition among private insurers. The exchanges are part of a federal health care law that Alaska and other states are challenging in court. Parnell has said he believes provisions of the law to be unconstitutional.
But since it is the law of the land, Parnell said, he told U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday that the state would proceed with developing an exchange with its own money. Sebelius has been visiting Alaska this week.
Alaska Health and Social Services Commissioner William Streur told The Associated Press he plans to issue a request for proposals by mid-September, seeking consultants to help design an exchange. If successful, a vendor would then need to be found for implementation.
Under the law, the federal government could eventually step in and establish exchanges in states where none exist. Streur said the government must sign off on what the states are proposing by January 2013 and that a program must be in place by January 2014.
People who don't get insurance through their employer will then be able to buy insurance through the exchange.
In Alaska, Streur said a limited number of insurance plans could be available as part of the program. He said many of the state's main employers -- the oil companies, hospitals, educational institutions -- tend to be insured through a parent corporation already or self-insured and likely wouldn't participate in an exchange.
Part of the consultant's job, he said, will be to look at what other states are doing in terms of crafting their programs.
An estimated 14 percent of Alaskans are uninsured.
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